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The eyewitness

A reporter who documented the results of a massive Brazilian police operation in Rio de Janeiro has reported how residents came back with badly injured victims of the deceased individuals.

The casualties "kept coming: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the photographer described. They included security forces.

One individual was discovered headless - additional victims were "severely damaged", he reported. Many also had what appeared to be knife injuries.

In excess of 120 victims lost their lives during the security action against a criminal group - the deadliest such raid the municipality has seen.

The photographer stated that he initially learned to the raid in the early hours by community members living in Alemão, who sent him messages alerting him there was a shoot-out.

The reporter traveled to a local medical facility, where the casualties were coming in.

The eyewitness reported that the police stopped members of the press from accessing the Penha neighborhood, where the police action were taking place.

"Law enforcement personnel established a perimeter and said: 'Journalists are not allowed to pass'."

But Itan, who grew up in the area, stated he was able to enter past the security perimeter, where he remained until dawn.

He explained that Tuesday night, area inhabitants began to search the elevated terrain that separates the Penha neighborhood from the adjacent Alemão area for relatives whose whereabouts were unknown after the operation.

Local people living in Penha arranged the located casualties in a square - and Itan's photos reveal the response of the people there.

"The harsh reality of it all impacted me a lot: the pain of the families, mothers fainting, pregnant wives, crying, furious relatives," the eyewitness remembered.

Bruno Itan

The governor of the state declared that the large-scale security action with approximately 2,500 officers was designed to stopping an illegal organization referred to as Comando Vermelho from expanding its territory.

Initially, state authorities maintained that "60 suspects along with four officers" were fatally injured in the raid.

They have since said that early calculations indicates that 117 "suspects" lost their lives.

Rio's public defender's office, which provides legal assistance to the poor, has put the total number of fatalities to be 132.

Based on expert analysis, the criminal organization represents the unique criminal entity that in the past few years has succeeded to make territorial gains in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Experts commonly view among the biggest criminal organizations in Brazil, together with First Capital Command, and has a history extending half a century.

According to correspondent an expert, who has been covering illegal operations in Rio extensively, the gang "functions as a network" with area gang leaders forming part of the gang and acting as "commercial associates".

The organization focuses mainly on narcotics distribution, while also dealing in weapons, valuable minerals, petroleum products, alcohol and tobacco.

According to the authorities, organization members are well armed and authorities stated that throughout the operation, they faced assaults via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The state leader of the region, Cláudio Castro, described organization participants as criminal extremists and called the law enforcement personnel who died during the operation as brave public servants.

However, the count of fatalities during the raid has come in for criticism from international human rights authorities expressing they felt "shocked".

In a media appearance the next day, the official defended the police force.

"It wasn't our intention to cause fatalities. We aimed to detain everyone safely," he declared.

He continued that the circumstances worsened because the suspects resisted aggressively: "It was a consequence of the retaliation they executed and the overwhelming response by the illegal group."

The governor further reported that the casualties presented by community members in Penha had been "manipulated".

Through a message on online platforms, he said that certain victims had been stripped of tactical gear that he stated they possessed "to transfer accusation onto the police".

Felipe Curi of Rio's civil police force further reported that military attire, vests, and arms" had been removed from the casualties and showed footage seemingly depicting a person cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse