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The photographer

An eyewitness who documented the aftermath of a massive security raid in Rio de Janeiro has reported how residents came back with badly injured victims of those who had died.

The casualties "kept piling up: the count kept increasing", the eyewitness stated. The total contained those of police officers.

A particular victim had been decapitated - others were "completely mutilated", he reported. Many also had what he described as knife injuries.

In excess of 120 victims were killed in the Tuesday operation on a criminal gang - the most lethal operation Rio has experienced.

Bruno Itan stated that residents first notified him to the raid Tuesday morning by residents living in Alemão, who sent him messages telling him there was a shoot-out.

The photographer traveled to the healthcare center, where the victims were arriving.

The photographer stated that security forces blocked media personnel from going into the Penha neighborhood, where the operation were occurring.

"Law enforcement personnel formed a line and said: 'Media representatives are not allowed to pass'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who was raised in that neighborhood, stated he managed to enter past the security perimeter, where he remained until dawn.

He explained during the night, community members started looking the elevated terrain that borders the community of Penha and the adjacent Alemão area for loved ones who had been missing after the operation.

Local people from the Penha area organized the located casualties in an open area - the photographer's images reveal the response of the people there.

"The violence of what occurred impacted me a lot: the grief of loved ones, parents losing consciousness, expectant spouses, sobbing, furious relatives," the reporter recounted.

The photographer

The official of the state stated that the massive police operation deploying about 2,500 officers was aimed at halting an illegal organization referred to as the criminal faction from growing their influence.

At first, the Rio state government stated that sixty alleged criminals plus four law enforcement personnel" were fatally injured in the operation.

Authorities later reported that initial estimates indicates that 117 alleged criminals lost their lives.

The public legal service, that offers legal help to disadvantaged individuals, has estimated the overall count of fatalities to be 132.

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

It is generally regarded among the biggest criminal organizations in the country, together with a rival criminal group, with a background spanning over five decades.

According to reporter a specialist, with extensive experience documenting criminal activity in the city extensively, the criminal organization "operates like a franchise" with neighborhood bosses joining the organization and acting as "operational allies".

The organization engages primarily in illegal drug trade, while also dealing in firearms, precious metals, fuel, liquor smoking products.

Based on official reports, gang members possess significant weaponry and authorities stated that during the raid, they faced assaults via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The state leader of Rio state, the government representative, characterized Red Command members as "narcoterrorists" and called the four police officers killed in the raid as "heroes".

However, the count of casualties during the raid has come in for criticism from UN human rights officials saying it was "shocked".

In a media appearance the following day, the official supported law enforcement.

"It wasn't our intention to result in deaths. We wanted to detain everyone safely," he said.

He added that the events had escalated due to the alleged criminals resisted aggressively: "It resulted of the resistance they executed and the excessive violence by those criminals."

The official additionally stated that the victims shown by residents in the area were "altered".

In a post on online platforms, he claimed that particular individuals had been taken of tactical gear that he stated they possessed "to transfer accusation onto the police".

A police official representing security forces also said that military attire, vests, and firearms" were taken away from the casualties and showed footage seemingly depicting an individual removing tactical gear {off a corpse