Roadside bomb explodes in Colombia, killing two cops and one civilian

Shocking moment roadside bomb explodes in Colombia terror attack killing three including two cops and a woman riding her motorbike: Ten others injured as president vows ‘heinous’ act ‘will not go unpunished’

• Police officers Raúl Martínez and patrolman Andrés Idárraga and civilian Lucy Castillo were killed in a roadside bomb attack in Norte de Santander, Colombia
• The terror attack took place Wednesday when the cops’ cruiser was struck by the bomb; five cops and five civilians were also injured 
• The attack took place in an area of the Norte de Santander province where guerrilla groups have a presence; not arrests have been made

A roadside bomb exploded in a terror attack in northeastern Colombia, killing two police officers and a woman who was riding a motorcycle.

Five police officers and five civilians were also injured in Wednesday afternoon’s attack that took place in Tibú, a municipality in the province of Norte de Santander.

A tour bus dashcam captured the tragic moment the cruiser was traveling in opposite direction when the explosion sent it spinning and crashing into the coach.

In a statement, the Colombia National Police identified the officers as second lieutenant Raúl Martínez and patrolman Andrés Idarraga.

The dead civilian was identified as Lucy Castillo. It’s unclear if she was killed in the impact of the crash or by falling debris from the police vehicle.

Still image from a tour bus shows the moment police officers in Colombia lose control of their vehicle after it was impacted by a bomb before it crashed into the coach in the northeastern province of Norte de Santander on Wednesday. The crash left two cops and a civilian dead. Ten cops and residents were also injured

Colombia National Police agents Ángelo Martínez (left) and Andrés Idarraga (right) were killed in a bombing Wednesday that also left a civilian dead. No arrests have been made

Lucy Castillo was riding her motorcycle moments before she was killed after a roadside bomb impacted a police cruiser Wednesday in Tibú, a municipality in the northeastern Colombian province of Norte de Santander

The injured cops were identified as mayors Wilson Millán and mayor Édison Hernández and patrolmen Brando Coronado, Germán Gómez and Ezequiel Pérez.

‘The National Police condemns this new barbaric act against civil society and police officers of the homeland that mourns our country and offers a reward of up to 200 million pesos ($44,500) to whoever provides information that allows finding the whereabouts of the responsible,’ the police said.

The bombing occurred in a region of the South American nation where a dissident group of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and National Liberation Army (ELN) are known to operate.

However, neither group has come forward to claim responsibility.

Leftist President Gustavo Petro, a former member of the 19th of April Movement guerrilla group, vowed to find the suspects.

‘I reject the terrorist attack in Tibú, Norte de Santander, against the lives of our police officers,’ he tweeted. ‘A hug of solidarity for the families of the victims of this heinous act. This criminal act will not go unpunished.’

The impact of the roadside bomb sent the police cruiser crashing into a tour bus that was traveling in opposite direction on a road in the municipality of Tibú

Colombia soldiers escort one of the five police officers who were injured in the bombing that left two cops and a civilian dead Wednesday in the province of Norte de Santander

William Salamanca, the director of the Colombia National Police, visits one of the five cops who were injured in Wednesday’s bombing

The latest terror attack comes after Petro announced Monday the suspension of a cease-fire with rebels from the Estado Mayor Central dissident FARC group after four Indigenous peoples – three of them minors – were executed in public after they had escaped a camp in the southern province of Putumayo last week.

The Petro administration called the killings were a war crime and an ‘assault on peace’ and added that attacks on Indigenous peoples were ‘inexcusable.’

The Estado Mayor Central is composed of former FARC commanders who declined accepting the 2016 peace deal with the government in which more than 14,000 fighters gave up their weapons.

The Petro administration ordered Colombia’s military to cease attacks on several armed groups in the country December 31, as part of an effort to start simultaneous peace talks with different groups.

Petro’s plan has yielded few results so far. While violence between the military and armed groups has ceased in some parts of the country, attacks on civilians continue.

In March, a cease-fire with the criminal organization known as the Gulf Clan broke down after the group resisted efforts by the government to clamp down on illegal mines.

Meanwhile, the largest remaining rebel group in the country, the National Liberation Army, rejected the initial ceasefire offer, and recently put peace talks on pause, after Petro said that its younger commanders were not motivated by political goals, but by drug trafficking profits.

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