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The eyewitness

An eyewitness who witnessed the aftermath of a massive Brazilian police operation in the metropolitan area has described how local people brought back mutilated bodies of those who had died.

The victims "kept coming: the numbers kept rising", Bruno Itan reported. The total contained security forces.

One individual was discovered headless - while others appeared "totally disfigured", he explained. Many also had what he described as knife injuries.

In excess of 120 victims were fatally injured during Tuesday's raid against a criminal group - the bloodiest action Rio has experienced.

The photographer explained that residents first notified him about the operation in the early hours by local people of the Alemão neighbourhood, who reached out informing him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The reporter made his way to the healthcare center, where the bodies were arriving.

The eyewitness reported that law enforcement blocked media personnel from entering the operation zone, where the operation was under way.

"Security forces formed a line and announced: 'Journalists doesn't get past here'."

However, the photographer, who spent his childhood in that neighborhood, stated he was able to enter into the restricted zone, where he remained until the next morning.

He reported that Tuesday night, local residents started looking the elevated terrain which divides the Penha neighborhood from the neighboring Alemão community for loved ones who were unaccounted for after the operation.

Local people living in Penha organized the recovered bodies in an open area - the documented evidence show the emotions of the people there.

"The brutality of the situation shook me profoundly: the pain of loved ones, parents losing consciousness, pregnant wives, crying, furious relatives," the reporter recounted.

The eyewitness

The governor of the region declared that the large-scale security action involving around 2,500 law enforcement members was intended to halting an illegal organization referred to as Red Command from expanding its territory.

Originally, state authorities maintained that "60 suspects plus four law enforcement personnel" lost their lives during the action.

They have since said that early calculations suggests that 117 alleged criminals have been killed.

The public legal service, which provides legal assistance to low-income residents, has estimated the total number of fatalities at 132.

Based on expert analysis, the gang is the only criminal group that recently has been able to expand its territory throughout Rio state.

It is generally regarded among the biggest criminal organizations in Brazil, alongside another major gang, with a background spanning over five decades.

According to Brazilian journalist a specialist, with extensive experience documenting criminal activity in the city for years, Red Command "operates like a franchise" with area gang leaders affiliating with the group and serving as "commercial associates".

The criminal group focuses mainly on drug trafficking, but also smuggles weapons, gold, energy resources, liquor smoking products.

According to the authorities, criminal affiliates are well armed and officials reported that during the raid, they encountered resistance using drone-delivered explosives.

The official of the region, the government representative, described organization participants as criminal extremists and called the four police officers fatally injured in the action as courageous individuals.

Nevertheless, the total of fatalities in the security action has faced scrutiny from UN human rights officials stating they were "horrified".

During a press briefing on Wednesday, the state leader justified security actions.

"It wasn't our intention to result in deaths. We intended to arrest them all alive," he declared.

He continued that the circumstances intensified because the suspects fought back: "It occurred of the counterattack they carried out and the disproportionate use of force by the illegal group."

The official additionally stated that the casualties shown by residents in the neighborhood had been "tampered with".

Through a message through digital channels, he claimed that particular individuals had been stripped of the camouflage clothing that he stated they possessed "to redirect responsibility toward law enforcement".

Felipe Curi representing security forces further reported that military attire, body armor, and arms" had been removed from the victims and presented video apparently demonstrating a person cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse