8 Soldiers Killed, 5
Injured In Colombia Mine
Ambush
Eight Colombian soldiers
were killed and five
others injured in
anti-personnel mine
explosions in the Meta
department of central
Colombia, the army said
Wednesday.
Gen. Guillermo Quinonez
said the soldiers were
patrolling an area near
the municipality of
Puerto Rico, some 200 km
south of Colombia's
capital Bogota on
Tuesday night, when they
walked into a landmine
ambush allegedly placed
by Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC)
guerillas.
The soldiers killed were
fighting in the 44th
front against the FARC,
the country's largest
anti-government rebel
group.
"We were advancing a
tactical mission to
neutralize the (alleged)
terrorist actions of the
FARC's 44th front, we
continue our commitment
to continue the
operations to find out
who is responsible for
these deaths," said
Quinonez.
The injured soldiers
have been transferred to
medical centers in
Villavicencio, Meta's
capital.
At least 680
municipalities out of
1,099 in Colombia are
mined, according to
official statistics.
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