Six killed as troops clash with rebels in Colombia

At least five rebels and one soldier have been killed and three more soldiers injured in a clash between Colombian troops and rebel guerrillas.

At least five rebels and one soldier have been killed and three more soldiers injured in a clash between Colombian troops and rebel guerrillas.

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The gun battle between government troops and the rebel National Liberation Army (ELN) fighters occurred on Sunday in Santa Rosa del Sur, a small town in Bolivar in northern Colombia, commander Gen Ricardo Vargas said on Sunday.

The rebels were from the Ramiro Jesus Ramirez Castro front of the ELN, he said.

Vargas added that although five rebels were killed, only one body was found with all his arms and ammunitions while the other four deaths have been confirmed through technical measures.

In a separate incident on Saturday, Colombian police arrested Nestor Alcides Gomez Pamplona, second in command of the ELN's Carlos Alirio Buitrago front.

The National Liberation Army is a Marxist revolutionary insurgent guerrilla group that has been operating in several regions of Colombia since 1964.

The ELN is believed to have 3,500 to 5,000 guerrillas, much fewer than the main rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or the FARC.