BOGOTA (Reuters) – Three people were killed early on Tuesday morning in two explosions at the airport in the Colombian border city of Cucuta, police and security officials said.
Cucuta is the capital of Norte de Santander, a province along the border with Venezuela that has become the new epicenter of Colombia’s long internal conflict as security forces battle drug gangs and rebels amid increasing coca production.
“Criminals entered the Camilo Daza airport where they detonated an explosive artifact between the runway and the fence,” Cucuta police commander Colonel Giovanni Madarriaga said in a video. “Because of this (explosion) there were human remains.”
Several minutes later police assessing the area found a suitcase, Madarriaga added.
“As they approached, with all security precautions, it exploded,” he said.
The two dead policemen, William Bareno Ardila and David Reyes Jimenez, had both been recognized for their work to remove landmines, the police said in messages to journalists.
The police are collecting evidence to identify the perpetrators, Madarriaga added.
Both President Ivan Duque and Defense Minister Diego Molano rejected the attack on Twitter.
“We are coordinating all immediate actions to find those responsible for this attack,” Duque said.
(Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra and Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Mark Porter)
