At Least 12 Die in Colombia Town Overrun by Rebels
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BOGOTA, Colombia — A picturesque mountain town lay in ruins Monday after rebels detonated explosives in front of a church, a bank, a clinic and other buildings.
Colombian troops and police searching through the rubble of Arboleda--90 miles northwest of Bogota, the capital--after the two-day attack by hundreds of rebels found the bodies of at least eight police officers, part of an estimated 25-member contingent that tried to fight off the attack. Four civilians, including the wife of a policeman, also were dead. At least three survivors among the local police force were found.
A resident, identified only as Duvan, told Caracol Radio that hundreds of heavily armed rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, arrived in Arboleda on Saturday. They packed a van and a car with dynamite, planted gas bombs around the town and then detonated the bombs, Duvan said.
Rebel attacks in the last three weeks have killed more than 30 police officers nationwide.
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