Military: 14 Rebels Killed in Colombia Fighting

The Colombian military said Monday a weekend offensive against the FARC killed 14 rebels, five more than previously reported.

The air and ground attack targeted a FARC camp near the town of Tame, in a rural area near the border with Venezuela, it said in a statement.

During the operation, a helicopter was hit by rebel fire but was not brought down.

Besides the 14 dead, whose bodies were recovered after the fighting, one rebel was wounded and another surrendered.

The government of President Juan Manuel Santos has been engaged in peace talks with the FARC since November 2012, but has vowed to keep up military pressure on the guerilla group until a comprehensive deal is reached.

Santos on Monday pressed for concluding the talks this year.

"We have to finish up by the end of the year because these processes too start to get worn out and the parties no longer show the same interest ... We don't want the process to get so worn out that it falls apart," Santos told Caracol television.

With 7,000 to 8,000 fighters, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia have been battling the state since their founding in 1964.