Six soldiers were killed Monday in an attack by Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas in southern Colombia, military
sources said.
The guerrillas hurled grenades and fired automatic rifles as they
attacked an army patrol in a rural area of Cauca department about 700
kilometers south of Bogota, a source with the army’s 29th Brigade told
AFP.
The rebels killed five soldiers and a non-commissioned officer, the source said, adding that there were no injured reported.
The army was investigating the circumstances surrounding the attack,
which was believed to have been carried out by the FARC’s Jacobo Arenas
column.
With 7,000 to 8,000 fighters, the FARC is the largest guerrilla group operating in Colombia.
The attack came just days after the FARC released six hostages to a peace group led by Sen. Piedad Cordoba.
The rebels are holding hundreds of hostages, including 22 military and
police that they are seeking to swap for some 500 guerrillas held in
Colombian and U.S. jails. (AFP)