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The photographer

A photographer who documented the consequences of a large-scale Brazilian police operation in the Brazilian city has reported how local people returned with mutilated bodies of the deceased individuals.

The victims "kept coming: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the eyewitness described. Among them were law enforcement personnel.

A particular victim was found without a head - others were "severely damaged", he explained. Several bodies showed evidence of stab wounds.

Over 120 individuals were fatally injured during Tuesday's raid targeting an illegal organization - the bloodiest action Rio has experienced.

The photographer explained that he initially learned concerning the action in the early hours by residents from the Alemão area, who sent him messages telling him gunfire had erupted.

The photographer went to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the bodies were being brought.

Itan explained that the police stopped members of the press from accessing the affected area, where the operation were taking place.

"Law enforcement personnel formed a line and declared: 'Media representatives doesn't get past here'."

But Itan, who grew up in that neighborhood, reported he was able to enter into the restricted zone, where he remained until the next morning.

He explained during the night, area inhabitants started looking the mountainous area that separates the community of Penha and the neighboring Alemão community for relatives who had been missing since the police raid.

Local people living in Penha organized the located casualties in a public space - the documented evidence reveal the response of the people there.

"The violence of the situation shook me profoundly: the sorrow of the families, women collapsing, expectant spouses, weeping, furious relatives," the photographer recalled.

The photographer

The state leader of the region announced that the massive police operation involving around 2,500 law enforcement members was aimed at stopping a criminal group called the criminal faction from expanding its territory.

Originally, state authorities claimed that sixty alleged criminals and four police officers" lost their lives in the raid.

Authorities later reported that early calculations shows that 117 alleged criminals lost their lives.

Rio's public defender's office, which provides legal assistance to low-income residents, has calculated the final tally of people killed at 132.

Per investigative findings, the criminal organization represents the unique criminal entity that recently has succeeded to make territorial gains across the region.

Experts commonly view among the biggest criminal organizations in the country, together with a rival criminal group, with a background spanning over five decades.

Per Brazilian journalist an expert, with extensive experience documenting crime in Rio extensively, the gang "operates like a franchise" with area gang leaders joining the organization and serving as "commercial associates".

The organization engages primarily in drug trafficking, while also dealing in firearms, gold, fuel, alcohol cigarettes.

According to the authorities, criminal affiliates possess significant weaponry and police said that during the raid, they encountered resistance via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The state leader of the state, the government representative, described Red Command members as "narcoterrorists" and called the security forces fatally injured in the action as "heroes".

However, the count of fatalities during the raid has received condemnation from international human rights authorities stating they were "horrified".

During a press briefing on Wednesday, Governor Castro supported law enforcement.

"There was no objective to result in deaths. We aimed to take suspects into custody without harm," he stated.

He added that the circumstances had escalated as the individuals fought back: "It was a consequence of the retaliation they executed and the excessive violence by the illegal group."

The official additionally stated that the victims presented by community members in the neighborhood had been "tampered with".

Through a message through digital channels, he claimed that certain victims had been removed of military-style attire he said they had been wearing "to transfer accusation onto the police".

Felipe Curi from the police department additionally stated that "camouflage clothing, body armor, and firearms" had been removed from the casualties and showed footage seemingly depicting a man stripping military attire {off a corpse