The deceased soldiers belonged to units of the Eighteenth Brigade that were carrying out search and area control tasks in the sector known as El Consuelo, municipality of Saravena, Arauca, in the eastern part of the country.

Due to the explosion, three other soldiers were also wounded and were evacuated to receive specialized medical attention, according to the information released. The military entity also reported that reinforcement units were deployed to the sector, to strengthen security and find the whereabouts of the perpetrators.

According to local media, in the same department, there was fighting between the Armed Forces and the ELN in a rural area of the Arauquita municipality.

The confrontation allegedly took place to pressure this insurgent force to release six members of a family kidnapped on January 6.

jrr/jav/ro/ifs