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Bruno Itan

A photographer who observed the consequences of a large-scale Brazilian police operation in the Brazilian city has reported how local people brought back mutilated bodies of the deceased individuals.

The casualties "continued arriving: the count kept increasing", Bruno Itan described. They included law enforcement personnel.

One individual had been decapitated - while others appeared "completely mutilated", he explained. Numerous victims displayed evidence of knife injuries.

Over 120 individuals lost their lives during Tuesday's raid targeting an illegal organization - the bloodiest action Rio has experienced.

The photographer reported that he initially learned concerning the action in the early hours by local people of the Alemão neighbourhood, who contacted him telling him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The photographer traveled to the healthcare center, where the casualties were arriving.

The photographer stated that security forces stopped members of the press from accessing the Penha neighborhood, where the operation were taking place.

"Police officers established a perimeter and declared: 'Media representatives doesn't get past here'."

But Itan, who was raised in that neighborhood, stated he managed to enter into the cordoned-off area, where he remained until dawn.

He described that Tuesday night, area inhabitants started looking the hillside that borders the community of Penha and the adjacent Alemão area for loved ones who had been missing since the police raid.

Local people living in Penha organized the discovered victims in a public space - the documented evidence display the emotions of the gathered crowd.

"The violence of what occurred shook me deeply: the sorrow of loved ones, mothers fainting, expectant spouses, sobbing, angry family members," the eyewitness remembered.

Bruno Itan

The governor of the region stated that the extensive law enforcement effort with approximately 2,500 security personnel was aimed at halting an illegal organization called Comando Vermelho from increasing their control.

Originally, the Rio state government maintained that sixty individuals and four police officers" lost their lives in the operation.

Authorities later reported that their "preliminary" count indicates that 117 "suspects" were fatally injured.

The public legal service, that gives legal support to low-income residents, has estimated the overall count of people killed as 132.

Based on expert analysis, the criminal organization stands as the sole illegal faction which in recent years has managed to expand its territory across the region.

It is generally regarded among the biggest criminal organizations nationally, together with First Capital Command, and has a history spanning over five decades.

Based on reporter a specialist, who has long reported on criminal activity in the city for years, the criminal organization "operates like a franchise" with area gang leaders joining the organization and acting as "operational allies".

The criminal group engages primarily in drug trafficking, additionally trafficking firearms, precious metals, petroleum products, beverages smoking products.

Per law enforcement statements, organization members are well armed and police said that throughout the operation, they encountered resistance from explosive-laden drones.

The governor of Rio state, Cláudio Castro, described organization participants as "narcoterrorists" and referred to the four police officers who died during the operation as courageous individuals.

Nevertheless, the total of fatalities during the raid has received condemnation from international human rights authorities expressing they felt "appalled".

In a media appearance the next day, the official defended the police force.

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

He continued that the situation intensified as the individuals had retaliated: "It was a consequence of the resistance they executed and the overwhelming response by the illegal group."

The governor also said that the victims presented by community members in the area had been "tampered with".

In a post on online platforms, he claimed that particular individuals had been taken of military-style attire that he stated they possessed "to transfer accusation to security forces".

Felipe Curi of Rio's civil police force also said that military attire, body armor, and arms" were stripped from the victims and showed footage seemingly depicting an individual stripping military attire {off a corpse