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Six soldiers were killed in rural Colombia on Thursday after they entered a minefield during clashes with rebels, military officials told AFP.
The group “fell into an area prepared with explosives” while fighting with members of the National Liberation Army (ELN) and the Central General Staff (EMC) in the northern province of Valdivia, according to the military.
Guyana said it’s intensifying security measures and engaging the US military to help it protect the oil-rich region of Essequibo, describing Venezuela’s intentions to grant oil exploration licenses in the area as a threat to its territorial integrity.
The United Nations Security Council plans to hold a closed-door meeting on the issue Friday, according to two people familiar with the matter. Both sides will have the chance to speak before the council’s 15 members. Guyanese President Irfaan Ali said in an earlier statement that his country had asked the Security Council to take appropriate action, but no immediate decision is expected at this point, according to the people.
US, British and French forces say they repelled a series of Iranian-backed Houthi attacks off the coast of Yemen.
US military said at least 28 uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) were downed over the Red Sea early on Saturday.
Colombia’s National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels said on Friday they have freed all hostages under a deal made with the country’s government to end kidnapping for ransom.
“The Central Command ordered the liberation of all people held for economic ends, all units of the ELN have been reviewed and the order was completely followed,” the ELN said in a statement posted to its website.
The United States military has launched dozens of airstrikes against targets in Syria and Iraq in the first retaliation for a drone attack that killed three soldiers at a remote US base in Jordan.
“This afternoon, at my direction, US military forces struck targets at facilities in Iraq and Syria that the IRGC and affiliated militia use to attack US forces,” US President Joe Biden said in a statement on Friday, referring to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
