Marxist Rebels Ambush, Kill 20 Colombian Troops

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BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) - Colombian Marxist rebels ambushed and killed at least 20 Colombian soldiers on Wednesday in the deadliest attack on the armed forces in years, the army said.

The killings in the northern province of Uraba, the third major rebel assault this month, represent a bloody rebuttal of army claims guerrillas have been pushed into retreat and a blow to President Alvaro Uribe's popular security policies.

Guerrillas from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by its Spanish acronym FARC, ambushed 41 soldiers in the jungle province of Uraba near the border with Panama, killing at least 20, an army spokesman said.

The army did not immediately say how many soldiers were wounded. It appeared to be the highest death toll for the military in a single incident in at least five years.

Reuters