FARC rebels kill 10 Colombian soldiers

[News_Editor]

FARC rebels kill 10 Colombian soldiers

2011-10-22 09:02:59 GMT+7 (ICT)

CALI, COLOMBIA (BNO NEWS) -- At least ten Colombian soldiers were killed on early Friday morning when rebel militants launched an attack in the country's southwestern region, officials said.

The attack targeted a military platoon from the Army's Jungle 53 battalion which is stationed in Colombia's port city of Tumaco, located in Nariño Department along the Pacific Ocean, Colombian Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon confirmed.

Pinzon said the attack was carried out by members of the rebel group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) while the platoon was on a security operation protecting an African palm plantation in the area. In addition to the ten killed soldiers, six others were reported injured and are already receiving medical treatment in Tumaco.

"We were struck at dawn by the FARC's Daniel Aldana organization, exploiting a weak point in the zone," stated General Alejandro Navas after traveling to the area. He also added that the area is also a drug trafficking corridor and a terrorist route.

Navas described the attack as "deeply painful," adding that security officials must recognize that these incidents occur because of tactical errors. "But our men are responding," he said. "They are on the offensive."

The killed soldiers were identified as Lieutenant Luis Garcia Cogollo, Second Corporal Alexander Restrepo Castañeda, and soldiers Yanier Calzada Muñoz, Jairo Domingo Cortes Cortes, Edier Felipe Cortes Rialpe, Miguel Angel Goyes Casanova, Adier Ramiro Preciado Guerrero, Carlos Wilson Rincon Arroyo, Carlos Alberto Tenorio Quiñones, and Jhon Jairo Castillo Perlaza.

FARC rebels are known for being highly active in the Tumaco area. Two separate rebel attacks on August 17 and August 29 killed a total of nine soldiers in the area. And several weeks earlier, guerrillas from the Western Bloc of the FARC-EP stormed a local prison, freeing fifteen imprisoned FARC members.

The FARC was formed in 1964 and is structured as a military organization, with approximately 10,000 armed guerillas organized into seven "blocs," 68 numbered "Fronts", nine named "Fronts," and four urban "militias." The rebel group is dedicated to the violent overthrow of Colombia's democratically-elected government.

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