At least 17 killed in fighting in Colombia

26.06.06

news.monstersandcritics.com

An attack on a military convoy on patrol in the region of Montes de Maria in northern Colombia killed nine soldiers, the Colombian military said Friday.

The attack was carried out by members of the Colombia Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC), said Colonel Balista Carmamo.

Local media reports said the convoy first was hit by grenades before the victims were gunned down by machinegun fire. Recovery of the bodies was complicated by rebel mine fields.

Seven FARC rebels and a member of Colombia’s second-biggest guerrilla group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), were killed the day before in fighting in the provinces of Antioquia and Cesar in the north and Tolima in central Colombia.

The FARC and ELN have been waging civil war in Colombia for decades, financing their effort largely through drug smuggling.

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