Two Colombian soldiers were doused with gasoline and set on fire as the military attempted to destroy a cocaine laboratory.
The anti-drug operation was occurring in a rural area of the northern Putumayo department, which borders Ecuador, CBS News reported. The operation resulted in a confrontation with a large group of local residents who tried to stop the military operation.
"[A] group of civilians attacked the uniformed officers with fire to impede the procedure," the military said in a statement to the outlet.
Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez implied in a post on X that the attackers used local residents as a cover to attack the soldiers.
"Those who did this are neither civilians nor communities demanding their rights. They are criminals and drug traffickers who tried to assassinate our soldiers," Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a post on X. "All of Colombia must raise its voice in rejection and condemn this crime. Colombia stands with its heroes who wear uniform."
Colombia has been battling Comandos de Frontera, a group that did not accept the 2016 peace agreement between the government and the FARC guerrilla group, CBS News noted.
Sanchez said that a reward of 200 million pesos is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of those responsible for the attack on the two soldiers.
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