Military sources reported that four soldiers are dead and six missing following an armed confrontation with the FARC in the eastern department of Guaviare.
Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos confirmed Tuesday that the four soldiers died while undertaking a military operation.
Santos said that two guerrillas had been killed in combat 30 kilometers to the south-east of Guaviare. When national forces attempted to retrieve their bodies for identification, they were bombed with grenades, resulting in four deaths.
Media sources had previously reported the disappearance of up to 25 soldiers. Santos denied this figure and said that the only infantry unaccounted for at this stage are a lieutenant and five soldiers “with whom we have not been able to establish any contact”.