FARC guerillas have been blamed for a bombing in southwestern Colombia, which injured eight police officers and several civilians, local media reported.
The bomb went off about 1PM Tuesday near a police truck that was part of a convoy in the Granada Hills area, west of Popayan in the department of Cauca. Police Colonel Ricardo Augusto Alarcon said of the eight police officers hurt in the attack, one suffered severe injuries. Two civilians also incurred severe injuries, including a nearby taxi driver who was peppered with shrapnel, according to Augusto.
The bomb also damaged several nearby houses, and explosive experts are searching the area for any signs of other hidden bombs.
The bombing comes just a day after FARC rebels launched a grenade at an army checkpoint, which injured one soldier and eight civilians, including several children. The attack occured Monday in the Pacific port city of Buenaventura, also in Colombia’s southwest. The area is considered a strategic location for drug shipping and has long been plagued by violence between neo-paramilitary groups, criminal gangs and left-wing guerrillas.