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The eyewitness

A photographer who observed the results of a massive security raid in the Brazilian city has described how community members returned with badly injured victims of people who lost their lives.

The bodies "continued arriving: the numbers kept rising", the eyewitness described. They included law enforcement personnel.

One of the bodies had been decapitated - while others appeared "severely damaged", he reported. Many also had what appeared to be stab wounds.

More than 120 people were fatally injured during Tuesday's raid against a criminal group - the deadliest such raid Rio has experienced.

Bruno Itan explained that he initially learned concerning the action Tuesday morning by residents of the Alemão neighbourhood, who sent him messages informing him gunfire had erupted.

The eyewitness went to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the casualties were coming in.

The eyewitness reported that law enforcement stopped members of the press from entering the operation zone, where the operation were taking place.

"Police officers formed a line and declared: 'The press are not allowed to pass'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who was raised in the community, reported he was able to enter past the security perimeter, where he stayed until the next morning.

He described that Tuesday night, local residents started looking the hillside that separates the Penha neighborhood from the neighboring Alemão community for loved ones who had been missing after the operation.

Local people from the Penha area arranged the located casualties in a public space - and Itan's photos display the reaction of the people there.

"The violence of the situation impacted me a lot: the sorrow of loved ones, parents losing consciousness, pregnant wives, sobbing, angry family members," the photographer recalled.

The photographer

The governor of the state declared that the large-scale security action involving around 2,500 security personnel was intended to stopping a criminal group referred to as Red Command from growing their influence.

At first, the Rio state government stated that "60 suspects along with four officers" had been killed in the operation.

They have since said that their "preliminary" count suggests that 117 "suspects" were fatally injured.

The legal assistance organization, that gives legal support to low-income residents, has calculated the overall count of people killed to be 132.

According to researchers, the gang is the only criminal group that recently has succeeded to make territorial gains in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Experts commonly view as a major illegal faction in Brazil, together with a rival criminal group, and has a history extending half a century.

Per Brazilian journalist Rafael Soares, with extensive experience documenting criminal activity in the city over many years, the criminal organization "works as a system" with local criminal leaders affiliating with the group and becoming "commercial associates".

The criminal group engages primarily in narcotics distribution, but also smuggles weapons, valuable minerals, energy resources, liquor smoking products.

According to the authorities, gang members have substantial firearms and police said that during the raid, they faced assaults using drone-delivered explosives.

The official of the state, the political leader, labeled Red Command members as "narcoterrorists" and described the security forces who died during the operation as courageous individuals.

Nevertheless, the total of fatalities during the raid has received condemnation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights expressing they felt "appalled".

In a media appearance on Wednesday, the state leader defended the police force.

"It wasn't our intention to kill anyone. We aimed to arrest them all alive," he declared.

He continued that the circumstances intensified due to the alleged criminals fought back: "It was a consequence of the retaliation they carried out and the overwhelming response by the illegal group."

The governor additionally stated that the casualties displayed by locals in Penha had been "tampered with".

Through a message on social media, he claimed that particular individuals had been stripped of the camouflage clothing he said they had been wearing "to transfer accusation to security forces".

A police official representing security forces further reported that military attire, protective equipment, and weapons" had been removed from the victims and displayed evidence apparently demonstrating a person removing tactical gear {off a corpse