Colombian troops bombarded a guerrilla camp, killing at least 12 fighters from a FARC rebel unit blamed for several high-profile attacks, including last year's kidnap and murder of a state governor, Reuters quoted officials as saying today. The attack was the latest setback for the FARC or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, which has been hit hard by President Alvaro Uribe's U.S.-backed military offensive to end Latin America's oldest-surviving left-wing insurgency. "This morning we carried out a successful operation against the Teofilo Forero unit; we have already 12 deaths counted," Defense Minister Gabriel Silva told reporters. Troops attacked a rebel base capable of supporting 100 guerrillas in southern Caqueta province, a key corridor for cocaine smuggling, authorities said. Better air mobility, training and intelligence have helped Colombia's armed forces retake parts of the Andean country once under the control of guerrillas and paramilitary squads who financed their operations by trafficking cocaine.
