Car bomb and attack on a helicopter in Colombia kill at least 17, including police officers

A car bomb and a separate attack on a police helicopter in Colombia killed at least 17 people Thursday, according to authorities. President Gustavo Petro attributed both attacks to dissidents of the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, commonly known as FARC.

At least 12 police officers died in the attack on a helicopter that according to authorities was transporting personnel to an area in Antioquia in northern Colombia, to eradicate coca leaf crops, the raw material for cocaine. Petro had reported initially eight officers killed, but Antioquia Gov. Andrés Julián said four others died later and three remain injured.

The Antioquia governor had said on X that a drone attacked the helicopter as it flew over coca leaf crops. Colombian Defence Minister Pedro Sánchez said preliminary information indicates the attack caused a fire in the aircraft.

Meanwhile, authorities in the southwest city of Cali reported that a vehicle loaded with explosives detonated near a military aviation school, killing five people and injuring more than 30. The Colombian air force did not immediately provide additional details of the explosion.

Petro initially blamed the Gulf Clan, the country’s largest active drug cartel, for the attack on the helicopter. He said the aircraft was targeted in retaliation for a cocaine seizure that allegedly belonged to the group.

The president said an alleged member of the dissident group was arrested in the area of the explosion.

FARC dissidents, who rejected a peace agreement with the government in 2016, and members of the Gulf Clan both operate in Antioquia.

Coca leaf cultivation is on the rise in Colombia. The area under cultivation reached a record 253,000 hectares in 2023, according to the latest report available from the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime.