21 March 2018•Update: 22 March 2018
BOGOTA, Columbia
Three Ecuadorian soldiers were killed Tuesday in a bomb attack near the Colombian border.
The Ecuadorian military released a statement saying the attack occurred against soldiers patrolling the Mataje region in Esmeraldas province.
At least seven other military personnel were injured.
The military did not release further information on who was responsible for the attack.
Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos condemned the attack.
Another bomb attack was carried out against a police station in the region on Jan. 27 in which 28 people were injured, including civilians.
Mataje and the surrounding region are located on the southern border of Colombia, where a number of armed groups control the production of coca and the cocaine trade.
Reporting by Lokman Ilhan:Writing by Merve Aydogan
