The Colombian army said on Tuesday that at least five soldiers were killed in a bomb attack by dissident Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) guerrillas in a major cocaine-producing region in southwestern Colombia.
The French news agency AFP reported the news. The army said in a statement on social media that a convoy of military vehicles was traveling in the volatile Micé Canyon region when their vehicle was attacked with an explosive device planted on the road.
The army said that “the attack was apparently carried out by members of the Carlos Patinos Structure, an organized armed dissident group.” It left two non-commissioned officers and three professional soldiers dead and three soldiers seriously wounded.
The statement added that the soldiers were carrying out a mission to rebuild a bridge in the rural town of La Hacienda, which Carlos Patino militants destroyed in early March.
“I condemn, condemn and reject the heinous terrorist attack on Carlos Patino’s military vehicle,” Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote in a message on Twitter.
The attack came days after the release of 28 police officers and a soldier who had been held hostage in the same area on Saturday. Their release has sparked renewed tensions in the area.
Twenty-nine people were arrested after residents clashed with security forces on Thursday. The clashes were part of a government military operation aimed at curbing drug-related violence in the area.