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The eyewitness

An eyewitness who documented the results of an extensive security raid in the metropolitan area has recounted how community members came back with disfigured remains of people who lost their lives.

The bodies "kept coming: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the photographer described. The total contained security forces.

One individual was discovered headless - others were "severely damaged", he explained. Many also had what appeared to be blade trauma.

More than 120 people were fatally injured during Tuesday's raid on a criminal gang - the bloodiest action in the city.

The photographer reported that he was first alerted about the operation early on Tuesday by local people living in Alemão, who contacted him telling him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The photographer went to a local medical facility, where the casualties were coming in.

Itan explained that security forces stopped members of the press from accessing the operation zone, where the operation were occurring.

"Security forces established a perimeter and declared: 'Journalists are not allowed to pass'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who was raised in the area, reported he managed to make his way into the restricted zone, where he continued through the night.

He explained that evening, area inhabitants started looking the hillside that borders Penha from the neighboring Alemão community for relatives whose whereabouts were unknown since the police raid.

Community members living in Penha proceeded to place the located casualties in a square - and Itan's photos reveal the reaction of the gathered crowd.

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

Bruno Itan

The official of the region declared that the massive police operation deploying about 2,500 security personnel was aimed at stopping an illegal organization referred to as Comando Vermelho from expanding its territory.

Initially, state authorities maintained that sixty individuals along with four officers" had been killed in the raid.

Officials subsequently stated that initial estimates suggests that 117 "suspects" have been killed.

The public legal service, that offers legal help to disadvantaged individuals, has put the total number of people killed at 132.

According to researchers, the gang stands as the sole illegal faction that in the past few years has succeeded to make territorial gains in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

It is widely considered one of the two largest gangs nationally, together with First Capital Command, and has a history spanning over five decades.

Per Brazilian journalist Rafael Soares, who has long reported on illegal operations in Rio over many years, Red Command "works as a system" with neighborhood bosses affiliating with the group and becoming "commercial associates".

The gang concentrates largely on illegal drug trade, additionally trafficking firearms, precious metals, petroleum products, alcohol smoking products.

Per law enforcement statements, criminal affiliates possess significant weaponry and police said that during the raid, they faced assaults using drone-delivered explosives.

The official of the state, the political leader, labeled gang affiliates as criminal extremists and referred to the security forces fatally injured in the action as "heroes".

Nevertheless, the total of casualties in the security action has faced scrutiny from UN human rights officials expressing they felt "horrified".

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

"There was no objective to kill anyone. We wanted to arrest them all alive," he said.

He added that the circumstances had escalated due to the alleged criminals had retaliated: "It occurred of the counterattack they implemented and the overwhelming response from the gang members."

The governor further reported that the bodies presented by community members in the area had been "manipulated".

Through a message on social media, he claimed that some of them had been taken of the camouflage clothing that he stated they possessed "to redirect responsibility onto the police".

A police official representing security forces further reported that tactical gear, vests, and weapons" were stripped from the victims and displayed evidence seemingly depicting a man removing tactical gear {off a corpse