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The photographer

A reporter who observed the results of an extensive security raid in the Brazilian city has described how local people brought back badly injured victims of people who lost their lives.

The victims "continued arriving: the count kept increasing", the eyewitness stated. The total contained law enforcement personnel.

One of the bodies had been decapitated - others were "totally disfigured", he reported. Numerous victims displayed what he described as knife injuries.

Over 120 individuals were fatally injured during the security action against a criminal group - the deadliest such raid Rio has experienced.

The photographer reported that residents first notified him about the operation in the early hours by local people from the Alemão area, who reached out telling him an armed confrontation was occurring.

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

Itan explained that the police prevented journalists from accessing the operation zone, where the operation were taking place.

"Police officers formed a line and said: 'Media representatives cannot proceed beyond this point'."

However, the photographer, who was raised in the area, reported he succeeded to enter into the restricted zone, where he stayed until dawn.

He explained that evening, community members commenced searching the hillside which divides the Penha neighborhood from the adjacent Alemão area for relatives who were unaccounted for following the security action.

Community members of the Penha neighbourhood arranged the discovered victims in an open area - the photographer's images reveal the emotions of those present.

"The violence of what occurred shook me a lot: the sorrow of the families, mothers fainting, women carrying children, crying, angry family members," the photographer recalled.

The photographer

The state leader of the state declared that the extensive law enforcement effort deploying about 2,500 security personnel was aimed at halting a gang called Comando Vermelho from expanding its territory.

Originally, state authorities claimed that sixty individuals and four police officers" were fatally injured in the raid.

They have since said that early calculations indicates that 117 alleged criminals were fatally injured.

The legal assistance organization, that gives legal support to disadvantaged individuals, has put the total number of people killed as 132.

According to researchers, the gang stands as the sole illegal faction that recently has managed to increase its control across the region.

It is widely considered as a major illegal faction in Brazil, in company with another major gang, and has a history extending half a century.

Per correspondent a specialist, with extensive experience documenting illegal operations in Rio for years, the criminal organization "works as a system" with local criminal leaders affiliating with the group and serving as "operational allies".

The organization concentrates largely on drug trafficking, while also dealing in firearms, precious metals, petroleum products, liquor and tobacco.

According to the authorities, criminal affiliates are well armed and officials reported that while the action was underway, they faced assaults from explosive-laden drones.

The state leader of Rio state, the government representative, labeled gang affiliates as drug terrorists and referred to the security forces fatally injured in the action as "heroes".

However, the count of casualties in the security action has received condemnation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights saying it was "horrified".

In a media appearance on Wednesday, the state leader defended the police force.

"It wasn't our intention to cause fatalities. We aimed to detain everyone safely," he stated.

He added that the situation intensified due to the alleged criminals fought back: "It resulted of the retaliation they carried out and the disproportionate use of force from the gang members."

The state leader additionally stated that the casualties shown by residents in Penha had been "tampered with".

In a post on social media, he said that certain victims had been removed of tactical gear which he claimed they wore "in order to shift blame toward law enforcement".

A police official representing security forces additionally stated that tactical gear, protective equipment, and firearms" were taken away from the bodies and showed footage seemingly depicting a person stripping military attire {off a corpse