Authorities blamed the attack on FARC rebels. (Left), soldiers escort alleged FARC members in Bogota on February 28, 2009. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
BOGOTA - COLOMBIAN authorities say rebels killed seven soldiers and wounded three others in an ambush in the country's remote coca-growing southwest.
The top security official for Narino state, Fabio Trujillo, tells The Associated Press that a patrol of 32 troops was ambushed in the municipality of Samaniego early on Sunday.
The town is in a major drug-producing region where the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, drug gangs and far-right militias all have a presence.
Authorities blamed the attack on FARC rebels. Colombia's US-backed military has made significant inroads against the rebel group in recent years, but it still has the capability to launch major attacks. -- AP
