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The photographer

A reporter who observed the aftermath of a massive law enforcement action in the Brazilian city has recounted how residents came back with disfigured remains of those who had died.

The bodies "kept coming: the count kept increasing", the eyewitness reported. The total contained law enforcement personnel.

A particular victim was found without a head - additional victims were "completely mutilated", he explained. Many also had evidence of blade trauma.

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

The eyewitness stated that residents first notified him about the operation in the early hours by residents of the Alemão neighbourhood, who reached out alerting him gunfire had erupted.

The reporter made his way to the healthcare center, where the victims were arriving.

The eyewitness reported that the police prevented journalists from entering the operation zone, where the police action were occurring.

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

But Itan, who was raised in the community, reported he succeeded to enter into the restricted zone, where he remained through the night.

He explained that evening, community members began to search the elevated terrain which divides the community of Penha and the neighboring Alemão community for family members who were unaccounted for since the police raid.

Local people from the Penha area organized the recovered bodies in a public space - and Itan's photos display the reaction of those present.

"The violence of what occurred affected me deeply: the pain of relatives, women collapsing, expectant spouses, weeping, furious relatives," the eyewitness remembered.

The eyewitness

The state leader of the region announced that the extensive law enforcement effort deploying about 2,500 law enforcement members was aimed at halting a gang referred to as the criminal faction from expanding its territory.

Originally, the Rio state government claimed that sixty individuals plus four law enforcement personnel" were fatally injured during the action.

Officials subsequently stated that their "preliminary" count shows that 117 "suspects" lost their lives.

The legal assistance organization, which provides legal assistance to disadvantaged individuals, has put the overall count of casualties as 132.

Per investigative findings, the criminal organization stands as the sole illegal faction that recently has managed to increase its control throughout Rio state.

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.

According to correspondent an expert, who has long reported on illegal operations in Rio extensively, the gang "operates like a franchise" with local criminal leaders joining the organization and acting as "operational allies".

The criminal group focuses mainly on drug trafficking, while also dealing in firearms, precious metals, fuel, alcohol and tobacco.

According to the authorities, organization members have substantial firearms and officials reported that while the action was underway, they faced assaults using drone-delivered explosives.

The governor of the state, the political leader, labeled gang affiliates as drug terrorists and called the security forces who died during the operation as "heroes".

Nevertheless, the total of people killed in the security action has come in for criticism from UN human rights officials saying it was "shocked".

In a media appearance the next day, Governor Castro supported law enforcement.

"There was no objective to cause fatalities. We aimed to detain everyone safely," he said.

He continued that the events intensified due to the alleged criminals resisted aggressively: "It was a consequence of the retaliation they carried out and the disproportionate use of force by those criminals."

The governor additionally stated that the victims shown by residents in the area were "altered".

In a post on social media, he said that some of them had been removed of the camouflage clothing which he claimed they wore "to redirect responsibility to security forces".

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