Ten civilians and seven policemen were wounded in an attack in a town in the southwest of Colombia on Saturday. Authorities immediately attributed the attack to rebel group FARC.
Authorities told press that officers received a phone call regarding a potential kidnapping on the route between the village of Santander de Quilichao and the village of San Pedro, both located in the violence-ridden Cauca department.
On arrival however, two cylinders loaded with 60 kilos of explosives were detonated in an ambush, leaving 10 civilians and 7 policemen wounded.
Cauca police commander Colonel Richard Alarcon explained to Caracol TV that by the time the officers arrived at the scene “…they were surprised by the explosion.”
Alarcon additionally claimed that the attack was carried out by the Jacobo Arenas special forces unit of the FARC, in retaliation for the capture of ringleader “Caicedo” on June 27. Caicedo was one of the leaders of the unit.
The FARC has a strong presence in the area of the attack because of its proximity to the guerrilla organization’s birthplace and strategic location of drug trafficking. The rebel group is currently involved in peace talks with the Colombian government, but continues to carry out attacks as no ceasefire was agreed at the beginning of the negotiations.