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Bruno Itan

A reporter who documented the aftermath of a massive Brazilian police operation in Rio de Janeiro has recounted how local people came back with disfigured remains of people who lost their lives.

The victims "kept piling up: the count kept increasing", the photographer stated. Among them were law enforcement personnel.

One individual had been decapitated - while others appeared "completely mutilated", he reported. Many also had what appeared to be knife injuries.

More than 120 people were fatally injured in the Tuesday operation on a criminal gang - the deadliest such raid in the city.

Bruno Itan reported that he was first alerted to the raid in the early hours by residents from the Alemão area, who reached out telling him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The photographer made his way to a local medical facility, where the casualties were arriving.

The photographer stated that law enforcement blocked media personnel from accessing the operation zone, where the police action were taking place.

"Security forces established a perimeter and said: 'Media representatives doesn't get past here'."

However, the photographer, who grew up in the area, stated he managed to make his way past the security perimeter, where he stayed through the night.

He described that Tuesday night, community members commenced searching the hillside that separates the Penha neighborhood from the neighboring Alemão community for loved ones who had been missing following the security action.

Community members living in Penha proceeded to place the recovered bodies in a square - and Itan's photos reveal the emotions of the gathered crowd.

"The violence of the situation shook me a lot: the sorrow of relatives, women collapsing, expectant spouses, weeping, outraged parents," the eyewitness remembered.

Bruno Itan

The official of the state declared that the large-scale security action with approximately 2,500 security personnel was aimed at preventing a criminal group referred to as the criminal faction from increasing their control.

Originally, the Rio state government claimed that "60 suspects and four police officers" were fatally injured in the operation.

They have since said that initial estimates suggests that 117 "suspects" were fatally injured.

Rio's public defender's office, that offers legal help to low-income residents, has calculated the total number of people killed to be 132.

Per investigative findings, Red Command stands as the sole illegal faction that in the past few years has been able to make territorial gains across the region.

It is generally regarded as a major illegal faction in Brazil, in company with another major gang, and has a history dating back more than 50 years.

Per Brazilian journalist an expert, who has been covering illegal operations in Rio for years, Red Command "works as a system" with neighborhood bosses forming part of the gang and acting as "business partners".

The gang focuses mainly on drug trafficking, but also smuggles firearms, valuable minerals, petroleum products, alcohol smoking products.

Per law enforcement statements, organization members are well armed and authorities stated that during the raid, they faced assaults from explosive-laden drones.

The governor of the state, the government representative, characterized gang affiliates as "narcoterrorists" and referred to the four police officers who died during the operation as courageous individuals.

But the number of fatalities in the operation has faced scrutiny from UN human rights officials stating they were "appalled".

During a press briefing the next day, the state leader justified security actions.

"There was no objective to kill anyone. We wanted to arrest them all alive," he said.

He continued that the situation had escalated due to the alleged criminals resisted aggressively: "It was a consequence of the retaliation they implemented and the disproportionate use of force by those criminals."

The state leader also said that the victims presented by community members in the area had been "manipulated".

Through a message on social media, he asserted that particular individuals had been removed of the camouflage clothing which he claimed they wore "to transfer accusation toward law enforcement".

A police official representing security forces additionally stated that military attire, body armor, and firearms" were taken away from the bodies and displayed evidence seemingly depicting a man stripping military attire {off a corpse