At least 11 members of Colombia’s largest rebel group, the FARC, were killed on Sunday by an air force bombardment of their camp in the municipality of Tame, in the western state of Arauca, according to local media reports.
The attack came just days after an alleged FARC bombing drew widespread national backlash against the rebel group, and is the greatest blow the FARC has suffered since lifting a one-month unilateral ceasefire last Wednesday.
MORE: 1 killed, more than 30 injured in alleged FARC bombing in western Colombia
The guerrillas reportedly belonged to the Mobile Column Alfonso Castellanos of the FARC’s 10th Front. Unit commander Omar Guevara Rivera, alias “Flanklin,” was the original objective of the mission and is reported to be among those killed during the attack.
According to local media Radio W, authorities unofficially counted one wounded soldier and three helicopters impacted by long range weapons in the attack, although the air force has yet to release official figures.
So far, neither the alleged FARC bombing nor the government aerial strike has had drastic effects on ongoing peace talks between the parties, being held in Havana, Cuba. The 19th round of talks began shortly after the new year, and will center around the topic of illicit narcotics cultivation in Colombia, the third of six scheduled agenda points for the negotiations.
MORE: FARC peace proposal aims to protect coca, poppy, and marijuana growers