As many as 17 people have been killed after a truck bomb and a helicopter crash were reported in Colombia’s military bases, officials said.
The authorities have blamed the twin incidents on the dissident factions of FARC, the disbanded leftist guerrilla group. Authorities said at least five people were killed in a Truck explosion, while 12 officers were killed in the suspected downing of the helicopter near the Cali military.
Reports confirmed that dozens of people were injured in both incidents, with authorities tracing the groups behind the attacks. Before the truck explosion, a military helicopter was shot down by the suspected terror group department of Antioquia in northern Colombia, killing 12 officers and injuring several others.
Antioquia governor Andres Julian said in a post on X that an army helicopter was shot down while it was carrying out a routine patrol. Though the rescuers, while putting in intensive efforts to retrieve the dead, have not managed to rescue the dead or the injured.
Colombia's President Gustavo Petro and Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez blamed the two attacks on dissident factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a now-defunct leftist guerrilla group.
In a post on X, Petro called the helicopter attack an "act of war" committed by the 36th Front of the Estado Mayor Central (EMC), alluding to one of the main FARC splinter groups operating in northeastern Antioquia.
Over the past few years, the EMC has mushroomed and become one of the dreaded criminal gangs dealing with the Narco trade. Sanchez, who had earlier said that the Clan del Golfo cartel attacked the police helicopter, said in an update on X that E36 was responsible, according to "recent information" from the police.
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