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Tree bombs – The FARC’s new war tactic?

by | Sep 30, 2014

Colombia’s largest armed rebel group, the FARC, are using “tree bombs” to attack security forces in Southern Colombia, said local authorities on Monday.

According to the Colombian military, the method consist of placing explosives in tree branches. The bombs allegedly go off when the tree is shaken, similar to landmines.

Four of these artifacts were recently discovered in the Southern state of Huila, said the military in a press release.

According to the report, the FARC would be “using this illegal method of warfare to affect the security forces and civilians, seeking not only lower limb amputation but cause death by tearing the body apart.”

The deadly explosives were discovered by canines and later destroyed by a Explosives and Demolitions Team. The Teofilo Forero mobile column, an elite unit of the FARC, is believed to have installed the four bombs.

The army announced the use of tree bombs for the first time in 2012.

Sources