Police academy bombed in Colombia

A Thursday morning bombing at a Colombian police academy in the capital city killed at least nine people and injured more than 20 others, officials said. A car rammed into the General Santander National Police Academy in southern Bogotá before the explosion went off. Witnesses said the force of the blast shattered the windows of nearby apartments. Police confirmed the casualties included citizens from Ecuador and Panama. Colombian President Iván Duque condemned the “miserable” attack. “All of us Colombians reject terrorism and are united in confronting it,” he tweeted. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the bombing.

The bombing recalled the horrors Colombians experienced in decades of violence by guerrilla rebels and drug lords. But as Colombia’s conflict has wound down, security has improved and residents have lowered their guard. In the last major attack in January 2018, rebels from the National Liberation Army killed five police officials in the northern port city of Barranquilla. The United States considers the group a terrorist organization.