[kellyhound]

Colombia. Last Sunday evening at approximately 9:45 PM, a devastating terrorist attack struck the urban area of the Planadas municipality in southern Tolima.

The attack involved a dump truck packed with explosive cylinders that was detonated in a residential area. Also drones carrying explosives were used.

The primary target was a nearby military base, specifically the Infantry Battalion No. 17 General Domingo Caicedo belonging to the Army's Sixth Brigade.

However, the explosions directly impacted the surrounding civilian residential zone, completely tearing through neighborhoods like Aeropuerto and Simón Bolívar.

Four civilians were killed. 1. Juliana Olaya, a young, well-known local sportswoman and veterinary medicine student. She was inside her home when the blast wave struck and took her life.

Dúver Forero being her husband, who was also killed inside their home.

Joseph Sánchez, a local young man who was killed in his residence during the explosion and a 2-month-old baby girl being the daughter of Joseph Sánchez.

At least 17 to 18 people were injured. Because the local hospital suffered near-total destruction, emergency medical teams had to set up a makeshift clinic at the Santo Domingo Savio school to treat the wounded. Three severely injured victims had to be transferred to specialized centers.

The blast caused immense shockwaves, damaging 177 homes, destroying local businesses, causing a pharmacy to catch fire, and destroying roughly 80% of the municipal hospital’s infrastructure.

Military and government authorities, including Tolima Governor Adriana Magali Matiz, have attributed the attack to dissident factions of the FARC (specifically groups operating under the command of Iván Mordisco).

The strike is specifically blamed on a joint operation between two structures of the Isaías Pardo Central Block being the Ismael Ruiz Front and the Gerónimo Galeano Commission.

Colombian intelligence forces have singled out two main criminal leaders as the masterminds behind this attack.

Florentino Boyocé Tenorio alias Amazonas or Leonel. He is the main ringleader of the Isaías Pardo Central Block, with over 8 years of criminal activity and Andrés Calambazamo alias Iván or Hojaja. He is the third-in-command of the Gerónimo Galeano commission, who has been operating for at least 5 years.

Following the tragedy, local Mayor Juan Camilo Hueje immediately decreed a strict curfew to regain control of public order and ensure safety.

The National Army remains deployed to fully secure the municipality, while humanitarian aid has been set up at the community hall of the 9 de Febrero neighborhood to temporarily house the displaced families who lost their homes.

[kellyhound]

Also last Wednesday, in the municipality of Patía, Cauca department, a car bomb exploded just meters from a police station, causing damage to homes, businesses and vehicles in the area. At least one person died, and two others were injured.

The security forces suspect the involvement of the Carlos Patiño front, one of the most belligerent structures within the Estado Mayor Central, the Farc-EP dissident group led by Néstor Vera Fernández, and operating under the orders of Iván Mordisco.