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The photographer

A reporter who witnessed the aftermath of an extensive security raid in the Brazilian city has reported how residents came back with badly injured victims of those who had died.

The victims "continued arriving: the numbers kept rising", the photographer reported. Among them were those of police officers.

A particular victim was discovered headless - others were "severely damaged", he said. Several bodies showed what appeared to be blade trauma.

In excess of 120 victims lost their lives during the security action against a criminal group - the most lethal operation in the city.

The eyewitness reported that he initially learned concerning the action early on Tuesday by community members from the Alemão area, who sent him messages informing him there was a shoot-out.

The eyewitness made his way to a local medical facility, where the bodies were coming in.

The photographer stated that law enforcement prevented journalists from going into the operation zone, where the operation were occurring.

"Law enforcement personnel created a barrier and announced: 'Journalists cannot proceed beyond this point'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who spent his childhood in the area, stated he succeeded to gain access into the restricted zone, where he continued until the next morning.

He reported that evening, community members started looking the mountainous area that borders Penha from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for relatives who had been missing following the security action.

Community members of the Penha neighbourhood organized the recovered bodies in a public space - the photographer's images show the reaction of the people there.

"The brutality of what occurred impacted me profoundly: the grief of the families, mothers fainting, women carrying children, sobbing, furious relatives," the eyewitness remembered.

The photographer

The state leader of Rio state announced that the extensive law enforcement effort deploying about 2,500 law enforcement members was designed to stopping an illegal organization known as Red Command from expanding its territory.

At first, state authorities claimed that sixty alleged criminals along with four officers" lost their lives in the raid.

Authorities later reported that their "preliminary" count indicates that 117 alleged criminals were fatally injured.

The public legal service, that gives legal support to disadvantaged individuals, has estimated the final tally of casualties at 132.

Based on expert analysis, the gang stands as the sole illegal faction that in the past few years has managed to increase its control in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Experts commonly view among the biggest criminal organizations in Brazil, together with a rival criminal group, with a background extending half a century.

Based on Brazilian journalist Rafael Soares, with extensive experience documenting criminal activity in the city over many years, Red Command "operates like a franchise" with neighborhood bosses affiliating with the group and acting as "operational allies".

The gang focuses mainly on illegal drug trade, additionally trafficking weapons, gold, energy resources, alcohol cigarettes.

Based on official reports, organization members possess significant weaponry and police said that during the raid, they came under attack using drone-delivered explosives.

The official of the region, the government representative, described gang affiliates as "narcoterrorists" and called the four police officers killed in the raid as brave public servants.

However, the count of casualties in the operation has received condemnation from UN human rights officials stating they were "shocked".

During a press briefing the next day, the state leader defended the police force.

"There was no objective to result in deaths. We aimed to arrest them all alive," he declared.

He further explained that the circumstances intensified due to the alleged criminals resisted aggressively: "It resulted of the retaliation they executed and the excessive violence by those criminals."

The official further reported that the bodies displayed by locals in Penha were "altered".

In a post through digital channels, he claimed that certain victims had been stripped of tactical gear he said they had been wearing "to redirect responsibility toward law enforcement".

Felipe Curi representing security forces further reported that "camouflage clothing, vests, and arms" were stripped from the bodies and displayed evidence seemingly depicting a man removing tactical gear {off a corpse