Army claims finding 76 mortars in southwest Colombia school

Typical "cylinder bombs" as allegedly found in El Tambo (Photo: Mi Putumayo)

The Colombian army on Monday claimed to have found 76 home-made mortars in a school building in a rural zone in the southwest of the country.

According to the Apollo Task Force, an elite army unit active in the Cauca state, the 76 explosives were found in a small school in an impoverished rural area of the El Tambo Municipality.

The operation leading to the confiscation of the explosives was carried out by the task force together with members of the Air Force and the National Police.

The FARC, Colombia’s largest and longest-living rebel group, has been using home-made mortars made from gas cylinders for decades.

The military has condemned the use of these projectiles as they are virtually impossible to aim which puts civilian population in the vicinity of a military target at risk.

El Tambo, Cauca

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