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Colombian troops kill three rebels, rescue abducted techies
Colombian troops have killed three leftist guerrillas and rescued three communications technicians kidnapped by them in northwestern Choco province, EFE news agency reported on Thursday.
Colombian troops have killed three leftist guerrillas and rescued three communications technicians kidnapped by them in northwestern Choco province, EFE news agency reported on Thursday.
The three technicians, who are safe and sound, were rescued on Tuesday in the jungle area of Carmen de Atrato, some 600 km west of Bogota, and three rebels were killed in the operation, military sources said.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas kidnapped the technicians last Friday from Montanita, a rural area in the province.
The FARC, Colombia's oldest and largest leftist guerrilla group, was founded in 1964 and today operates across a large swath of this Andean nation.
The rebel organization, listed as a terrorist outfit by the US and the European Union, has an estimated 20,000 fighters and is led by septuagenarian founder Manuel Marulanda, also known as "Sureshot".
Drug trafficking, extortion and kidnapping-for-ransom are the FARC's main means of financing its operations.
