Six Colombian Police Killed in Rebel Attack

Six Colombian police officers were killed Monday in an attack blamed on leftist FARC guerrillas, regional police sources told AFP.

The officers were gunned down in the southwestern department of Cauca between the towns of Puerto Tejada and Villarrica, according to local police, who blamed the assault on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

The attack comes as negotiators representing the Colombian government and the FARC are engaged in peace talks aimed at ending their nearly five-decade conflict, which has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.

Rebels armed with rifles and explosives attacked after the police had set up a checkpoint on the Pan American highway, police said, adding that another officer was wounded and rushed to an area hospital.

The government of President Juan Manuel Santos said there will be no ceasefire during the talks to prevent the guerrillas from regrouping, as they did during a failed previous round of peace talks 10 years ago.