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Drone Assault, Firefight Leaves Three 3 Soldiers Dead in Colombia
(MENAFN) At least three Colombian soldiers were killed and four more wounded after a drone assault and subsequent gun battle erupted inside a military base in the country's volatile northeast, the armed forces confirmed Saturday.
Officials pointed to the leftist National Liberation Army (ELN) as the group behind Friday night's raid, which struck a military installation in Ocana, located in Norte de Santander department near the frontier with Venezuela.
According to a military statement posted on X, two soldiers were killed instantly in the assault, while a third succumbed to his injuries after being rushed for medical care.
President Abelardo de la Espriella denounced the violence in sharp terms. “For every police officer or soldier murdered, we will bring the full weight and legitimate force of the State down upon the criminals,” he said, a statement relayed by the Washington Post.
Founded in 1964, the ELN maintains its primary stronghold in the Catatumbo region, a swath of territory straddling Norte de Santander and neighboring Cesar department. The area also provides refuge to holdout factions of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) — fighters who broke away rather than accept the peace accord signed ten years ago.
Both armed groups remain locked in a violent struggle for dominance over Catatumbo, a border region that ranks among Colombia's most productive coca-cultivation zones.
The attack is the latest in a string of violent incidents to hit the region. In August, a bombing outside a police station in Cucuta wounded 11 officers and killed a police dog, an attack also attributed to the ELN. Just days earlier, a car bomb detonated outside another police station in the northeast, killing one civilian and injuring 11 others.
Officials pointed to the leftist National Liberation Army (ELN) as the group behind Friday night's raid, which struck a military installation in Ocana, located in Norte de Santander department near the frontier with Venezuela.
According to a military statement posted on X, two soldiers were killed instantly in the assault, while a third succumbed to his injuries after being rushed for medical care.
President Abelardo de la Espriella denounced the violence in sharp terms. “For every police officer or soldier murdered, we will bring the full weight and legitimate force of the State down upon the criminals,” he said, a statement relayed by the Washington Post.
Founded in 1964, the ELN maintains its primary stronghold in the Catatumbo region, a swath of territory straddling Norte de Santander and neighboring Cesar department. The area also provides refuge to holdout factions of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) — fighters who broke away rather than accept the peace accord signed ten years ago.
Both armed groups remain locked in a violent struggle for dominance over Catatumbo, a border region that ranks among Colombia's most productive coca-cultivation zones.
The attack is the latest in a string of violent incidents to hit the region. In August, a bombing outside a police station in Cucuta wounded 11 officers and killed a police dog, an attack also attributed to the ELN. Just days earlier, a car bomb detonated outside another police station in the northeast, killing one civilian and injuring 11 others.
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