An explosive attack targeted the Agustín Codazzi Engineer Battalion in Palmira, Valle del Cauca, on Friday night, marking the second military strike in southwest Colombia within 24 hours, according to cooperativa.cl.
The night attack left no casualties but caused significant damage to military infrastructure. Social media footage showed a vehicle completely destroyed and reduced to twisted metal on the side of a road, the outlet reported.
Preliminary investigations by the Colombian Army point toward the Jaime Martínez column of the FARC dissidents, a group linked to alias 'Iván Mordisco,' the country's most wanted individual.
"This event caused damage to military infrastructure and put the community at risk. At this time, our troops report no casualties," the Army stated.
Escalation in Valle del Cauca
The Palmira bombing follows a morning attack in Cali, the departmental capital, where a minibus exploded after explosives were launched at the Pichincha Battalion. No victims were reported in the Cali incident either.
Governor of Valle del Cauca, Dilian Francisca Toro, condemned both strikes as "unacceptable terrorist acts." She noted that the attacks confirm an escalation of violence in the region.
"The attacks today in Cali and in Palmira are unacceptable terrorist acts that confirm that Valle is facing an escalation of violence that does not wait," Toro said on her X account. She announced a security council would meet Saturday to evaluate the situation.
Police General William Rincón expressed total rejection of the attacks and ordered a full investigation. "I have ordered the deployment of all our capabilities to investigate what happened... we are working in a coordinated manner to find those responsible for this wave of violence," Rincón said.
In the morning attack in Cali, the Army found three explosives inside the military canton and another nearby. The Cali Ombudsman's office also reported that two cylinders were launched into the battalion, though they failed to detonate.
Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder stated the city is currently "under a criminal offensive." He called for better institutional coordination to confront dissident FARC groups, the ELN guerrilla group, and other criminal organizations operating in the strategic southwest region.
