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The eyewitness

An eyewitness who documented the aftermath of a large-scale Brazilian police operation in the Brazilian city has reported how residents came back with disfigured remains of those who had died.

The bodies "kept coming: the numbers kept rising", the eyewitness described. They included those of police officers.

One individual was discovered headless - others were "totally disfigured", he said. Many also had evidence of blade trauma.

Over 120 individuals were fatally injured during the security action against a criminal group - the deadliest such raid in the city.

The photographer stated that he initially learned about the operation early on Tuesday by residents living in Alemão, who reached out alerting him gunfire had erupted.

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

Itan explained that security forces stopped members of the press from going into the Penha neighborhood, where the security measures were occurring.

"Police officers established a perimeter and said: 'Journalists are not allowed to pass'."

But Itan, who grew up in the area, explained he was able to enter into the cordoned-off area, where he stayed until dawn.

He explained during the night, area inhabitants commenced searching the mountainous area which divides the Penha neighborhood from the adjacent Alemão area for relatives whose whereabouts were unknown after the operation.

Residents from the Penha area arranged the recovered bodies in a public space - the photographer's images display the reaction of those present.

"The brutality of it all impacted me profoundly: the pain of the families, parents losing consciousness, women carrying children, crying, angry family members," the photographer recalled.

The photographer

The state leader of the state announced that the massive police operation with approximately 2,500 law enforcement members was intended to halting a criminal group known as Comando Vermelho from expanding its territory.

Originally, local officials claimed that sixty individuals along with four officers" were fatally injured in the raid.

They have since said that initial estimates indicates that 117 alleged criminals lost their lives.

Rio's public defender's office, that gives legal support to disadvantaged individuals, has estimated the final tally of people killed at 132.

Per investigative findings, the gang is the only criminal group that in the past few years has managed to expand its territory in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

It is generally regarded one of the two largest gangs nationally, in company with a rival criminal group, featuring a timeline spanning over five decades.

Per Brazilian journalist Rafael Soares, who has long reported on illegal operations in Rio over many years, the criminal organization "operates like a franchise" with area gang leaders forming part of the gang and acting as "business partners".

The gang focuses mainly on narcotics distribution, but also smuggles guns, valuable minerals, petroleum products, beverages cigarettes.

Based on official reports, gang members are well armed and police said that throughout the operation, they faced assaults 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 "heroes".

Nevertheless, the total of casualties in the security action has come in for criticism from UN human rights officials saying it was "horrified".

At a news conference on Wednesday, the state leader defended the police force.

"It wasn't our intention to result in deaths. We wanted to take suspects into custody without harm," he declared.

He further explained that the events had escalated due to the alleged criminals resisted aggressively: "It resulted of the retaliation they implemented and the excessive violence from the gang members."

The official also said that the bodies presented by community members in Penha were "altered".

Through a message on social media, he said that some of them had been removed of military-style attire he said they had been wearing "to transfer accusation to security forces".

Felipe Curi of Rio's civil police force also said that military attire, protective equipment, and arms" were stripped from the casualties and presented video appearing to show a person removing tactical gear {off a corpse