Drone attack blamed on guerrillas kills at least three soldiers in Colombia
Officials accuse National Liberation Army of launching strike followed by clash inside military compound An attack involving explosives dropped from drones followed by a clash inside a military compound in north-eastern Colombia has killed at least three soldiers and wounded four, Colombia’s army said Saturday. Local authorities blamed the attack late Friday on the rebel National Liberation Army…
A drone strike carried out by rebels has resulted in the deaths of at least three soldiers and injuries to four others in a military compound in northeastern Colombia. The attack, which occurred late on Friday, targeted a unit in the municipality of Ocaña, located in the Norte de Santander department near the Venezuelan border. The National Liberation Army (ELN), a guerrilla group active since 1964, has been accused of carrying out the strike.
Colombia's president, Abelardo de la Espriella, expressed his condemnation of the attack, stating that the state will utilize its full legitimate force to punish the criminals responsible. The ELN, which also has dissident factions of the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), is based in the Catatumbo region that includes parts of Norte de Santander and Cesar departments.
This region is a primary coca-producing area and has been the focal point of the ongoing struggle for control between the ELN and the Farc factions. In a similar incident last month, an explosion outside a police station in Cucuta injured 11 police officers and killed a police dog, also blamed on the ELN.
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