Bomb kills civilian and four police

Four police officers and a civilian were killed as officers moved a bomb allegedly planted by leftist rebels as part of an attempt to kill a mayor, authorities said.

Police found the bomb hidden in a water meter in front of the radio station where a car bomb on Thursday nearly claimed the life of the pro-government mayor of Neiva, Cielo Gonzalez. Police were transporting the bomb in a police vehicle when it exploded.

Authorities said that the device was part of the failed attack against Gonzalez by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, Latin America’s oldest leftist insurgency.