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The photographer

A photographer who documented the aftermath of a large-scale Brazilian police operation in Rio de Janeiro has recounted how community members brought back badly injured victims of people who lost their lives.

The victims "continued arriving: the numbers kept rising", the photographer stated. Among them were those of police officers.

One of the bodies was discovered headless - while others appeared "totally disfigured", he explained. Several bodies showed what he described as blade trauma.

More than 120 people were killed during the security action on a criminal gang - the bloodiest action in the city.

Bruno Itan reported that he was first alerted about the operation Tuesday morning by residents living in Alemão, who sent him messages informing him gunfire had erupted.

The eyewitness made his way to a local medical facility, where the casualties were coming in.

The photographer stated that security forces blocked media personnel from entering the Penha neighborhood, where the security measures was under way.

"Security forces created a barrier and said: 'Media representatives cannot proceed beyond this point'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who grew up in the community, stated he managed to gain access into the cordoned-off area, where he remained until dawn.

He explained that evening, local residents commenced searching the mountainous area that separates the community of Penha and the neighboring Alemão community for relatives who were unaccounted for following the security action.

Local people of the Penha neighbourhood arranged the located casualties in an open area - and Itan's photos reveal the emotions of the gathered crowd.

"The violence of it all affected me a lot: the pain of the families, mothers fainting, women carrying children, sobbing, angry family members," the eyewitness remembered.

The eyewitness

The state leader of the region announced that the large-scale security action involving around 2,500 security personnel was aimed at halting a gang known as the criminal faction from expanding its territory.

Originally, local officials stated that sixty alleged criminals and four police officers" lost their lives during the action.

They have since said that initial estimates shows that 117 individuals have been killed.

Rio's public defender's office, that offers legal help to the poor, has estimated the final tally of people killed at 132.

Per investigative findings, the gang is the only criminal group that recently has been able to increase its control across the region.

It is widely considered as a major illegal faction in the country, alongside another major gang, and has a history extending half a century.

Based on Brazilian journalist an expert, who has been covering criminal activity in the city extensively, the criminal organization "operates like a franchise" with neighborhood bosses joining the organization and acting as "commercial associates".

The organization engages primarily in narcotics distribution, while also dealing in guns, valuable minerals, fuel, beverages smoking products.

Based on official reports, criminal affiliates have substantial firearms and authorities stated that while the action was underway, they encountered resistance via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The official of the state, the political leader, labeled organization participants as drug terrorists and referred to the four police officers fatally injured in the action as courageous individuals.

Nevertheless, the total of casualties in the security action has received condemnation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stating they were "shocked".

During a press briefing on Wednesday, Governor Castro defended the police force.

"There was no objective to kill anyone. We wanted to take suspects into custody without harm," he stated.

He further explained that the situation intensified due to the alleged criminals resisted aggressively: "It resulted of the counterattack they carried out and the overwhelming response by the illegal group."

The state leader further reported that the victims displayed by locals in Penha were "altered".

In a post on online platforms, he asserted that particular individuals had been stripped of military-style attire that he stated they possessed "to redirect responsibility toward law enforcement".

Felipe Curi representing security forces also said that military attire, protective equipment, and firearms" were taken away from the casualties and displayed evidence appearing to show a man stripping military attire {off a corpse