Colombia’s military claims to kill 22 FARC insurgents in attack near Ecuador border

Colombian military claims to kill 22 rebels

BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombia’s defense minister says the military has killed at least 22 rebels in an air raid and ensuing ground assault near the border with Ecuador.

Rodrigo Rivera says the rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, killed in Sunday’s attack belonged to the same unit that killed eight police nine days earlier in the border town of San Miguel.

Authorities displayed bodies of some of the guerrillas to reporters in the nearby town of Puerto Assis.

But they did offer details on the operation or say whether security forces suffered casualties.

The FARC has killed more than 30 police in attacks across Colombia since Juan Manuel Santos became president Aug. 7.