Drone strike on Colombian military base leaves three soldiers dead and 16 wounded

Three soldiers have been killed and at least 16 others wounded in a drone attack on a military base in northern Colombia, according to the country's armed forces.

In a statement released on Saturday, the Colombian military said the strike hit a base in Santa Rosa del Sur, a small town set in the foothills of the San Lucas mountain range. Authorities have not named who was responsible for the assault, which is the most recent in a string of attacks on security forces as unrest grows in rural areas of the country.

The surrounding region is known for its gold mines and has been contested for years by rebel armed groups. Among them are the Gulf Clan, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and smaller factions commanded by former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Video circulating on social media showed plumes of smoke billowing from the base following three explosions, with soldiers taking shelter behind sandbag barriers.

President Abelardo de la Espriella vowed that those responsible would face consequences. "Those who were behind this attack.. will have nowhere to hide," he wrote on X. "Every attack against our soldiers strengthens our resolve to defend Colombia."

Violence has sharpened in a number of rural regions since de la Espriella, a conservative, assumed office in August. He ended peace negotiations with rebel groups and has pursued a more aggressive strategy, stepping up air strikes, sending additional troops into certain cities and establishing joint task forces to guard strategic infrastructure, including a pipeline stretching from the Caribbean coast to central Colombia.

The government maintains that armed groups exploited ceasefires granted under the previous administration to tighten their control over rural territory, where they extort local businesses and profit from drug trafficking. Several groups have answered the tougher stance with intensified attacks on the armed forces.

Last week, missiles fashioned from gas canisters struck a military base in Tolima province, killing four civilians, among them a two-month-old baby. Police in Cucuta, a city on the border, have also been hit repeatedly by remotely detonated bombs.

According to ACLED, an organization that tracks armed conflicts, state forces and illegal armed groups carried out 34 attacks involving bombs or explosives in Colombia during the four weeks ending October 16. That figure represents a 9 percent rise compared with last year's four-week average.

A peace agreement signed with FARC in 2016 brought about the demobilisation of more than 14,000 fighters, but smaller armed factions have since battled for control of the territory the rebels left behind.