Authorities in Colombia’s western city of Cali, Valle del Cauca averted a bombing attempt on the Army’s Third Brigade headquarters, Colombian media reported on Friday.
Valle del Cauca |
Three men suspected of belonging to Colombia’s largest rebel group, the FARC, were detected leaving a suitcase packed with explosives at the entrance of the headquarters of the Army’s Third Brigade in Cali, according to Colombia’s El Espectador newspaper.
The Third Brigade soldiers, who disabled the bomb, were able to capture one of the three men in the process.
The commanding officer of the military unit, Colonel Hernando Lamprea, stated on Colombia’s Blu Radio that “everything indicates that the men belong to the FARC.”
He added that the suitcase was filled with two pounds of primer and 10 bars of a type of explosive often used in mining. The bomb was attached to a cellular phone, which could have been remotely detonated with a single call.
El Espectador newspaper reported that the entrance of the army headquarters is located on one of the busiest streets in Cali, and it would have devastating effects if had detonated.
The incident follows President Juan Manuel Santos’ call on the FARC to cease its attacks on Colombian infrastructure and state forces.
MORE: ‘FARC is digging its own grave’ with attacks on infrastructure: Santos