A motorcycle loaded with explosives detonated at a police checkpoint in southwestern Colombia on Saturday, killing the driver and injuring 14 others, authorities said.
Officers had been conducting inspections in the community of Las Penas in the Jamundi municipality to prevent possible violence by illegal armed groups, commander of the Cali Metropolitan Police Col. Carlos Oviedo told journalists. The driver “became scared” and detonated the explosives after being called to the checkpoint, Oviedo said, killing himself and injuring seven civilians and seven police officers. One of the officers has a “reserved prognosis,” he added.
Read more…
Source: AP News
Sign up for Counter-IED Report Newsletter
Related:
- Colombia: Drones, Fear, and a Buzz That Kills
September 1, 2025
On a flickering surveillance monitor, two men watch as a speck in the sky releases its payload—homemade, crude, and lethal. Below, civilians scatter before the explosion blooms. This isn’t footage from Ukraine or Gaza. This is Colombia. Armed groups have discovered drones. What began as a trickle of reports has become a steady stream of terror. ...
- Colombia: Car bomb attack on military base in Cali leaves at last six dead
August 21, 2025
A car bomb attack near the military school of Colombia’s Marco Fidel Suarez Air Base, in eastern Cali, left at least six people dead and several others injured. The explosion occurred around 3 p.m. in the vicinity of the military base. Although the authorities are still working on assessing the damage, the attack could have been ...
- Colombia: Explosives-laden drone shots down helicopter eradicating coca crops in Antioquia
August 21, 2025
In a rural area of Antioquia, about 150 kilometers north of Medellín, a drone carrying explosives brought down a Colombian Aerospace Force (FAC) helicopter this morning. Although the number of fatalities has not yet been confirmed, reports indicate that at least twelve people were killed and another five were injured to varying degrees. Read more… Source: ColombiaOne News Sign ...
- Colombia: Three soldiers killed in attack with explosive-laden drones near Buenaventura city
August 13, 2025
Three soldiers have been killed in a drone attack in south-west Colombia, which authorities have blamed on a dissident rebel group. The devices dropped explosives on members of Colombia’s navy and army, who were manning a checkpoint on the Naya River. Four other members of the security forces were injured in the attack. Drone attacks have ...
- Sudanese airstrike hits Darfur airport, killing 40 suspected mercenaries
August 7, 2025
A Sudanese airstrike hit an airport in the country’s Darfur region controlled by a notorious paramilitary group, destroying a suspected Emirati military aircraft and killing dozens of suspected mercenaries, Sudanese officials and a rebel adviser said Thursday. Wednesday’s strike on the Nyala airport killed at least 40 suspected mercenaries from Colombia and destroyed a shipment of ...
- Mexican cartels using Ukrainian frontline to learn more about drone warfare
July 31, 2025
Mexican cartel operatives are understood to have joined Ukraine’s frontline so that they can learn advanced drone training to deploy against rivals and US security forces back in their homeland. Ukraine’s counterintelligence service confirmed it was currently investigating the potential infiltration of its International Legion, a military unit composed of foreign volunteers, by Latin American drug ...
- Colombia: School of Military Engineers forges experts in neutralization of explosive threats
July 30, 2025
Due to the high complexity and indiscriminate use of improvised explosive devices by groups outlaw, the Explosive Devices Management course was created in 2004, giving birth to the MARTE groups. Since then, these specialists have faced environments that exceed the response capacity of conventional teams, saving countless lives and working to increase the mobility of troops ...
- Colombian Military Now Using Explosive-Laden Drones To Fight Guerrillas And Gangs
July 18, 2025
Colombian troops have begun using explosive-laden drones to fight against guerrillas and gangs, as the device is increasingly used in battlefields around the world for different purposes. Speaking to NPR, Army Gen. Juan Carlos Correa said criminal groups are also using drones to monitor crops, target rival groups and conduct attacks against security forces. The outlet ...
- Colombia: Bomb-sniffing dog loses leg in explosion, hailed as hero for saving dozens of lives
July 14, 2025
A military dog is being hailed as a hero in Colombia after detecting a bomb planted by guerrilla fighters that exploded during a military operation, authorities said, adding that the wounded canine’s actions saved the lives of dozens of soldiers and civilians. The incident was announced just two days after a bomb strapped to a donkey ...
- Colombia: Bomb attack suspends pumping on Cano Limon-Covenas pipeline
July 14, 2025
Colombia’s Cano Limon-Covenas Oil Pipeline was bombed by unknown actors, operator Cenit said on Sunday, prompting the suspension of pumping between oil fields in the country’s northeast and the Caribbean coast, where the oil is exported. The attack occurred in a rural area of Saravena, in the region of Arauca, according to Cenit, a subsidiary of ...
- Colombia: Military operation leads to the neutralization of improvised explosive devices
July 11, 2025
Within the framework of focused military operations and as part of the work of the sustained military operation to increase the security and institutional control of the territory, troops of the Rapid Deployment Force No. 6 of the Sixth Division of Colombian National Army, through a tactical maneuver executed by troops of the Rapid Deployment ...
- Colombian Soldier Dies After Guerrilla Fighters Set Off Bomb Strapped To a Donkey
July 10, 2025
A Colombian soldier died and two others were wounded on Wednesday after guerrilla members set off a bomb strapped to a donkey, local officials said. The attack took place in Valdivia, in the department of Antioquia, and was attributed to the Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional (ELN). Antioquia governor Andres Julian Rendon reacted to the episode, criticizing the government ...
- Colombian National Army deals a powerful blow to the Jorge Suárez Briceño Bloc, with the destruction of 59 explosive devices in Puerto Rico, Caquetá
July 4, 2025
Within the framework of the Ayacucho Plus Campaign Plan and as part of the sustained operations to protect the inhabitants and neutralize terrorist threats, troops of the Twelfth Brigade, unit a of the Sixth Division of Colombian National Army, found and destroyed two illegal hiding places with 59 improvised explosive devices (IEDs), in the rural ...
- Colombia Seizes Remote-Controlled Narco-Submarine Equipped with Starlink Antenna
July 3, 2025
Colombia has seized a remote-controlled, unmanned narco-submarine, designed for autonomous operations and equipped with a Starlink antenna. According to local authorities, it belongs to local Gulf Clan (Clan del Golfo) drug cartel and was capable of transporting 1.5 tons of cocaine. The vessel was found near Santa Marta, on the Caribbean Coast, and contained no drugs. ...
- Illicit Innovation: Latin America Is Not Prepared to Fight Criminal Drones
June 11, 2025
The scene is by now all too familiar for those acquainted with coverage of modern war. A bird’s-eye view frames two figures ambling about below, then charts the path of an improvised explosive charge as it tumbles down, impacting with a puff of smoke and an explosion that is felt, not heard, through the camera ...
- Colombia: At least four dead in wave of explosions outside police stations in southwest
June 10, 2025
At least four people were killed in Colombia on Tuesday as rebel groups detonated bombs near police stations in the city of Cali and the neighboring Cauca province, according to authorities. Military and police spokespeople blamed the attacks on the FARC-EMC, a group led by former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia who broke ...
- Colombia: Troops of the Omega Task Force neutralized four explosive devices in the southeast
June 5, 2025
Within the framework of the Ayacucho Plus Campaign Plan conducted by the Omega Task Force of Colombian National Army, four improvised explosive devices were destroyed in two military operations. In the first operation, in the Peñas Coloradas village of Cartagena del Chairá, in Caquetá, the Rapid Deployment Force Nº 12 carried out tasks that led to ...
- Mexico arrests 10 Colombian ex-soldiers after deadly blast
May 30, 2025
Ten Colombian former soldiers were among the suspects arrested after an improvised landmine killed six Mexican troops in a drug cartel heartland this week, authorities said Friday. More than 40 explosive devices were seized along with other weapons in the western state of Michoacan, according to statements from the national and local governments. In total, 17 ...
- Colombia’s Bicentenario pipeline stops pumping after attack
May 29, 2025
Pumping on Colombia’s Bicentenario pipeline was suspended after an attack with explosives, its operator Cenit, a subsidiary of state-run energy company Ecopetrol, said on Thursday. The attack, in Arauca province, was committed by an unknown group, Cenit said in a statement. Bombings of pipelines are common in Colombia and are often carried out by rebel groups ...
- Venezuela suspends flights from Colombia after arrests of ‘mercenaries’
May 20, 2025
Venezuela has suspended flights from neighbouring Colombia after authorities detained more than 30 people allegedly plotting activities to destabilise the country before Sunday’s parliamentary election. Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello announced on state television on Monday that the flight ban was “immediate” and would last for a week. Cabello said the antigovernment plans involved placing explosives ...
- Colombia: Sok, the explosive detection trained dog that prevented attacks in Neiva, department of Huila
April 29, 2025
Under pressure of the Military Forces, the perpetrators abandoned a cloth bag containing four explosive devices, each weighing approximately one kilogram, in a wooded area. The troops moved to the place, and following the security protocols, the Sok on a thorough tour of the area made the positive signal that confirmed the presence of explosive material. ...
- New Frontlines and an Uncertain Future for Mine Clearance in Colombia
March 26, 2025
Nearly a decade after the landmark 2016 Peace Agreement between the Colombian government and a communist guerilla group known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the prevalence of landmines remains a critical issue in the country. As mine clearance efforts turn toward active conflict zones in Colombia where humanitarian law is disregarded, buried and ...