- The operation also seized rifles, short arms, ammunition, and 12 kilograms of coca paste.

File image of the Colombian Army. / Jaime Saldarriaga / REUTERS

Six FARC dissidents die during a Colombian Army operation

Within the framework of a military operation carried out by the Army in the department of Cauca, six alleged FARC dissidents were killed, while two others were captured and accused of being directly responsible for an attack in which a policeman died.

Troops of the National Army managed to dismantle a commission of the Carlos Patiño structure of the FARC that operated in the township of Quilcacé, a rural area of ​​El Tambo, in the department of Cauca, the military institution reported in a statement on Wednesday.

This group of dissidents would be responsible for the attack in the town of El Bordo, in the municipality of Patía, where a policeman was killed and two others were injured.

According to information from military intelligence, this commission was also responsible for attacking the police station in the municipality of Timbío with an explosive device on December 20. In addition, they would be the alleged perpetrators of the recent attack against the public forces in the village of Piedra Sentada de Patía, also in Cauca, where material damage was caused.

Among the illegal activities they carried out were extortion, armed proselytizing, and intimidation of the civilian population in southern Cauca, according to information provided by the Army.

In the operation, six rifles were also seized, including two high-precision rifles, five short arms, abundant ammunition of different calibers, communications material, propaganda alluding to the guerrilla, and 12 kilograms of coca paste.