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Bruno Itan

A photographer who observed the aftermath of an extensive security raid in Rio de Janeiro has reported how community members returned with disfigured remains of those who had died.

The bodies "kept coming: the numbers kept rising", Bruno Itan stated. Among them were security forces.

One of the bodies was found without a head - additional victims were "totally disfigured", he reported. Many also had what appeared to be blade trauma.

More than 120 people were fatally injured during Tuesday's raid against a criminal group - the most lethal operation the municipality has seen.

Bruno Itan reported that residents first notified him about the operation early on Tuesday by residents living in Alemão, who reached out informing him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The photographer traveled to a local medical facility, where the victims were being brought.

The eyewitness reported that law enforcement blocked media personnel from entering the affected area, where the operation were occurring.

"Law enforcement personnel formed a line and said: 'The press doesn't get past here'."

But Itan, who spent his childhood in that neighborhood, explained he succeeded to enter into the restricted zone, where he remained through the night.

He reported that Tuesday night, community members began to search the mountainous area that borders the Penha neighborhood from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for family members whose whereabouts were unknown after the operation.

Residents from the Penha area organized the discovered victims in an open area - and Itan's photos display the reaction of the people there.

"The violence of the situation affected me profoundly: the pain of the families, women collapsing, expectant spouses, weeping, angry family members," the eyewitness remembered.

The photographer

The state leader of Rio state stated that the large-scale security action with approximately 2,500 officers was designed to stopping a gang known as Comando Vermelho from increasing their control.

At first, state authorities claimed that sixty alleged criminals along with four officers" were fatally injured in the operation.

Officials subsequently stated that their "preliminary" count indicates that 117 alleged criminals have been killed.

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

Based on expert analysis, Red Command is the only criminal group that in the past few years has succeeded to make territorial gains across the region.

Experts commonly view among the biggest criminal organizations in the country, in company with a rival criminal group, and has a history dating back more than 50 years.

Per correspondent a specialist, with extensive experience documenting illegal operations in Rio extensively, the criminal organization "functions as a network" with neighborhood bosses forming part of the gang and acting as "commercial associates".

The criminal group concentrates largely on narcotics distribution, but also smuggles guns, precious metals, petroleum products, alcohol cigarettes.

Based on official reports, criminal affiliates are well armed and authorities stated that while the action was underway, they came under attack using drone-delivered explosives.

The governor of the state, the government representative, labeled gang affiliates as criminal extremists and described the law enforcement personnel who died during the operation as "heroes".

However, the count of people killed in the security action has come in for criticism with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights expressing they felt "horrified".

At a news conference the next day, the official defended the police force.

"It wasn't our intention to kill anyone. We intended to detain everyone safely," he declared.

He further explained that the situation intensified 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 victims displayed by locals in the area had been "manipulated".

Via a statement on online platforms, he asserted that certain victims had been taken of the camouflage clothing which he claimed they wore "in order to shift blame onto the police".

A police official of Rio's civil police force further reported that military attire, vests, and arms" had been removed from the bodies and displayed evidence appearing to show an individual stripping military attire {off a corpse