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The photographer

A photographer who witnessed the aftermath of a massive Brazilian police operation in Rio de Janeiro has recounted how community members returned with mutilated bodies of those who had died.

The casualties "kept piling up: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the eyewitness stated. Among them were those of police officers.

One individual had been decapitated - while others appeared "severely damaged", he reported. Several bodies showed what he described as stab wounds.

More than 120 people lost their lives in the Tuesday operation targeting an illegal organization - the bloodiest action in the city.

The photographer explained that he initially learned to the raid in the early hours by residents from the Alemão area, who sent him messages telling him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The photographer made his way to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the casualties were being brought.

The eyewitness reported that security forces stopped members of the press from entering the operation zone, where the security measures was under way.

"Police officers formed a line and said: 'Journalists doesn't get past here'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who spent his childhood in the area, reported he managed to enter past the security perimeter, where he stayed until dawn.

He explained that evening, local residents began to search the hillside that separates the community of Penha and the adjacent Alemão area for family members who were unaccounted for after the operation.

Community members living in Penha organized the recovered bodies in an open area - the documented evidence show the response of the gathered crowd.

"The brutality of it all impacted me a lot: the grief of loved ones, parents losing consciousness, expectant spouses, sobbing, outraged parents," the reporter recounted.

The eyewitness

The state leader of Rio state stated that the extensive law enforcement effort involving around 2,500 officers was designed to halting a gang known as Comando Vermelho from expanding its territory.

Initially, state authorities stated that sixty individuals plus four law enforcement personnel" had been killed in the raid.

Authorities later reported that early calculations shows that 117 alleged criminals were fatally injured.

The legal assistance organization, that gives legal support to the poor, has put the final tally of fatalities at 132.

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

It is widely considered as a major illegal faction nationally, together with a rival criminal group, and has a history dating back more than 50 years.

Per reporter a specialist, who has been covering crime in Rio for years, Red Command "operates like a franchise" with area gang leaders affiliating with the group and acting as "commercial associates".

The gang engages primarily in drug trafficking, but also smuggles firearms, precious metals, fuel, beverages and tobacco.

According to the authorities, organization members possess significant weaponry and police said that throughout the operation, they came under attack from explosive-laden drones.

The official of the state, the political leader, described Red Command members as criminal extremists and referred to the four police officers fatally injured in the action as "heroes".

However, the count of casualties in the operation has received condemnation from UN human rights officials saying it was "shocked".

In a media appearance on Wednesday, the official justified security actions.

"We did not plan to kill anyone. We aimed to take suspects into custody without harm," he stated.

He added that the events worsened because the suspects had retaliated: "It occurred of the counterattack they carried out and the excessive violence by those criminals."

The state leader additionally stated that the casualties presented by community members in the neighborhood had been "tampered with".

In a post through digital channels, he claimed that particular individuals had been stripped of military-style attire he said they had been wearing "to redirect responsibility toward law enforcement".

A police official from the police department further reported that tactical gear, vests, and firearms" were taken away from the casualties and presented video apparently demonstrating a man removing tactical gear {off a corpse