Bomb attack in Colombia kills 7, injures 20

Seven people were killed and 20 injured in a bomb attack in southwestern Colombia, authorities said Saturday.

An explosive, planted in a culvert on the Pan-American highway in Cajibio in the Cauca region, was detonated as vehicles were passing.

Seven people died at the scene, while 20 others, some seriously, were injured.

Security forces were deployed to the area following the blast, which witnesses said occurred during heavy traffic.

A traditional rural bus known as a “chiva” was destroyed in the explosion, which also damaged vehicles and left a large crater on the road.

President Gustavo Petro blamed Ivan Mordisco, leader of the EMC faction of the FARC rebel group, for the attack.

“Those who killed 7 civilians and injured 20 civilians in Cajibio are terrorists, fascists and drug traffickers,” Petro wrote on social media, directing intensified military operations and global tracking of the group.

In a separate incident, two people were injured in a bus bombing near a military base in the city of Cali.

*Writing by Merve Berker