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The photographer

An eyewitness who witnessed the aftermath of an extensive law enforcement action in Rio de Janeiro has reported how community members returned with mutilated bodies of the deceased individuals.

The bodies "kept coming: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the eyewitness described. They included security forces.

One individual was discovered headless - while others appeared "completely mutilated", he said. Many also had what he described as knife injuries.

In excess of 120 victims were killed during the security action against a criminal group - the bloodiest action in the city.

The photographer explained that he initially learned about the operation in the early hours by residents living in Alemão, who contacted him telling him there was a shoot-out.

The eyewitness traveled to the healthcare center, where the bodies were being brought.

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

"Police officers established a perimeter and announced: 'Journalists doesn't get past here'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who was raised in that neighborhood, explained he managed to enter past the security perimeter, where he remained until dawn.

He described that Tuesday night, area inhabitants began to search the elevated terrain that borders Penha from the neighboring Alemão community for relatives who had been missing since the police raid.

Local people from the Penha area organized the discovered victims in a square - the documented evidence display the reaction of those present.

"The harsh reality of the situation affected me a lot: the grief of loved ones, women collapsing, women carrying children, sobbing, outraged parents," the reporter recounted.

Bruno Itan

The state leader of Rio state declared that the large-scale security action deploying about 2,500 security personnel was aimed at preventing a criminal group called Red Command from increasing their control.

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

Authorities later reported that early calculations indicates that 117 individuals were fatally injured.

The public legal service, which provides legal assistance to low-income residents, has put the final tally of fatalities as 132.

Per investigative findings, the gang is the only criminal group that recently has succeeded to expand its territory throughout Rio state.

It is widely considered among the biggest criminal organizations in Brazil, alongside another major gang, and has a history spanning over five decades.

According to correspondent an expert, who has been covering illegal operations in Rio extensively, the criminal organization "operates like a franchise" with neighborhood bosses forming part of the gang and serving as "operational allies".

The gang focuses mainly on illegal drug trade, while also dealing in guns, valuable minerals, fuel, alcohol cigarettes.

Based on official reports, criminal affiliates possess significant weaponry and authorities stated that throughout the operation, they encountered resistance from explosive-laden drones.

The governor of the region, Cláudio Castro, labeled gang affiliates as drug terrorists and called the security forces killed in the raid as courageous individuals.

However, the count of fatalities in the security action has received condemnation from UN human rights officials expressing they felt "horrified".

During a press briefing the following day, Governor Castro defended the police force.

"It wasn't our intention to kill anyone. We aimed to take suspects into custody without harm," he said.

He further explained that the circumstances intensified as the individuals resisted aggressively: "It resulted of the resistance they executed and the overwhelming response by the illegal group."

The official further reported that the bodies shown by residents in Penha had been "tampered with".

Via a statement on online platforms, he claimed that some of them had been stripped of the camouflage clothing he said they had been wearing "to transfer accusation to security forces".

A police official of Rio's civil police force additionally stated that military attire, protective equipment, and arms" were stripped from the victims and displayed evidence appearing to show an individual removing tactical gear {off a corpse