Drone attack on Colombian army base kills three soldiers and wounds 16

Key points

• A drone strike on a Colombian army base in Santa Rosa del Sur killed three soldiers and wounded at least 16.
• No group has been named as responsible for the attack in the gold-rich San Lucas foothills.
• President Abelardo de la Espriella vowed those behind the attack will have nowhere to hide.

A drone attack on a military base in northern Colombia killed three soldiers and wounded at least 16, the armed forces said. The strike hit a base in Santa Rosa del Sur, a small town in the foothills of the San Lucas mountain range, according to a military statement on Saturday.

No one has said who carried out the attack, which is the latest in a series of strikes on security forces as violence rises in rural parts of the country. The area is rich in gold mines and has long been contested by rebel groups including the Gulf Clan, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and smaller groups led by former FARC members.

What the president said

Footage on social media showed smoke rising from the base after three explosions, with soldiers taking cover in sandbag shelters. President Abelardo de la Espriella wrote on X that those behind the attack "will have nowhere to hide" and that every attack on soldiers strengthens the resolve to defend Colombia.

Violence has intensified in several rural areas since de la Espriella, a conservative, took office in August. He cancelled peace talks with rebel groups and has taken a confrontational approach, including more air strikes, more troops in some cities and joint task forces to protect strategic assets such as a pipeline.

Those who were behind this attack… will have nowhere to hide

— President Abelardo de la Espriella

Recent attacks and rising violence

His government argues armed groups used ceasefires from the previous government to tighten their grip on rural areas, where they tax local businesses and profit from the drug trade. Some groups have responded by stepping up attacks on the armed forces.

Last week, a military base in Tolima province was hit with missiles made from gas canisters, killing four civilians including a two-month-old baby. Police in the border city of Cucuta have been attacked several times with remotely activated bombs.

State forces and illegal armed groups carried out 34 attacks with bombs or explosives in the four weeks to October 16, a 9 percent rise on last year's four-week average, according to ACLED. A 2016 peace deal with FARC demobilised more than 14,000 fighters, but smaller groups have since fought over the rebels' former territory.