A drone attack on a Colombian military base in Santa Rosa del Sur killed three soldiers and wounded at least 16, the armed forces said Saturday.
The base sits in a gold-mining region of northern Colombia long contested by the Gulf Clan, the National Liberation Army (ELN), and smaller groups descended from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Authorities have not identified who carried out the strike.
Social media footage showed three explosions and smoke rising from the base, with soldiers sheltering behind sandbags.
"Those who were behind this attack will have nowhere to hide," President Abelardo de la Espriella wrote on X. "Every attack against our soldiers strengthens our resolve to defend Colombia."
The attack is the latest in a series of strikes on security forces as violence rises in rural areas. De la Espriella, a conservative who took office in August, cancelled peace talks with rebel groups and shifted to a confrontational strategy. He has authorized more air strikes, deployed additional troops to some cities, and created joint task forces to protect strategic assets including a pipeline running from the Caribbean coast to central Colombia.
De la Espriella's government says armed groups used ceasefires under the previous administration to strengthen their hold on rural areas, where they tax businesses and profit from drug trafficking. Some groups have responded by escalating attacks on the armed forces.
Last week, a military base in Tolima province was hit with improvised missiles made from gas canisters, killing four civilians including a two-month-old baby. Police in the border city of Cucuta have faced multiple attacks using remotely activated bombs.
State forces and illegal armed groups carried out 34 attacks using bombs or explosives in Colombia in the four weeks to October 16, a 9 percent increase over last year's four-week average, according to ACLED, which monitors armed conflicts.