The casualties continued piling up - photographer recounts lethal Rio law enforcement operation

The photographer

An eyewitness who documented the aftermath of an extensive security raid in the Brazilian city has reported how community members returned with disfigured remains of people who lost their lives.

The victims "continued arriving: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the eyewitness reported. Among them were law enforcement personnel.

A particular victim had been decapitated - while others appeared "severely damaged", he explained. Many also had evidence of stab wounds.

Over 120 individuals lost their lives in the Tuesday operation targeting an illegal organization - the bloodiest action the municipality has seen.

The photographer stated that he was first alerted about the operation in the early hours by local people of the Alemão neighbourhood, who sent him messages informing him there was a shoot-out.

The reporter went to a local medical facility, where the casualties were arriving.

Itan explained that the police stopped members of the press from entering the affected area, where the police action was under way.

"Security forces formed a line and announced: 'Journalists cannot proceed beyond this point'."

But Itan, who grew up in that neighborhood, explained he was able to make his way past the security perimeter, where he stayed through the night.

He reported that evening, community members commenced searching the mountainous area that borders Penha from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for family members who were unaccounted for after the operation.

Residents 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 impacted me a lot: the sorrow of the families, mothers fainting, expectant spouses, sobbing, furious relatives," the eyewitness remembered.

The eyewitness

The state leader of Rio state declared that the extensive law enforcement effort involving around 2,500 law enforcement members was designed to stopping a criminal group referred to as Red Command from growing their influence.

Initially, the Rio state government stated that "60 suspects and four police officers" had been killed in the operation.

They have since said that their "preliminary" count indicates that 117 individuals have been killed.

Rio's public defender's office, that gives legal support to low-income residents, has put the final tally of casualties at 132.

Based on expert analysis, Red Command is the only criminal group which in recent years has been able to make territorial gains throughout Rio state.

Experts commonly view as a major illegal faction in Brazil, together with a rival criminal group, with a background spanning over five decades.

Per Brazilian journalist a specialist, who has long reported on crime in Rio for years, Red Command "functions as a network" with local criminal leaders joining the organization and becoming "commercial associates".

The criminal group concentrates largely on illegal drug trade, but also smuggles firearms, gold, energy resources, beverages cigarettes.

Based on official reports, criminal affiliates have substantial firearms and authorities stated that throughout the operation, they faced assaults via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The state leader of Rio state, Cláudio Castro, labeled organization participants as "narcoterrorists" and described the four police officers killed in the raid as brave public servants.

But the number of casualties in the security action has come in for criticism with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights expressing they felt "shocked".

In a media appearance the next day, the state leader supported law enforcement.

"It wasn't our intention to result in deaths. We aimed to detain everyone safely," he stated.

He further explained that the events worsened because the suspects fought back: "It occurred of the resistance they executed and the excessive violence by those criminals."

The governor further reported that the casualties displayed by locals in Penha had been "manipulated".

In a post on social media, he said that some of them had been taken of the camouflage clothing that he stated they possessed "in order to shift blame onto the police".

A police official representing security forces further reported that "camouflage clothing, body armor, and weapons" had been removed from the bodies and displayed evidence apparently demonstrating an individual stripping military attire {off a corpse