Drone attack blamed on rebels kills at least three soldiers in Colombia
An attack using explosives dropped from drones on a military base in north-eastern Colombia killed at least three soldiers and wounded four, with authorities blaming leftist rebel group ELN.
Colombia's army said on Saturday that at least three soldiers were killed and four wounded in an attack on a military unit in the country's north-east. The attack took place late on Friday and involved explosives dropped from drones, followed by a clash inside the military compound.
Local authorities blamed the assault on the National Liberation Army (ELN), a leftist rebel group. The target was a military unit in the municipality of Ocaña, in the Norte de Santander department, which borders Venezuela. Colombia's military said on X that two soldiers died at the scene, while a third died after receiving medical attention.
Presidential response
Colombia's president, Abelardo de la Espriella, condemned the attack, stating that the state would bring its full legitimate force against those responsible for every police officer or soldier killed.
ELN and the regional conflict
ELN, active since 1964, is mostly based in the Catatumbo region, which spans parts of the Norte de Santander and Cesar departments. The group also shelters dissident factions of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) that refused to join the peace deal signed a decade ago. Both groups are competing for control of the strategically important region, which borders Venezuela and is one of Colombia's key coca-growing areas.
In August, an explosion outside a police station in Cucuta wounded 11 officers and killed a police dog, an attack also attributed to the ELN. Earlier this week, a car bomb outside a police station in north-eastern Colombia killed at least one civilian and injured 11 other people.
