The toll from the car bomb blast on Thursday near a police academy in Colombia’s Capital Bogota has risen to 21, AFP reported on Friday.
The national police said 68 people were injured in incident, which has been described at the deadliest terrorist attack the country has faced. Fifty eight of the injured have been discharged from hospital.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. The car’s driver has been identified as Jose Aldemar Rojas Rodriguez, said Attorney General Nestor Humberto Martinez. According to Martinez, the vehicle underwent an inspection in July at the Arauca department on the border with Venezuela – an area dominated by the ELN Left rebel group, which has targeted Colombia several times.
Meanwhile, President Ivan Duque has ordered three days of mourning. “All Colombians reject terrorism and we are united in fighting it,” he tweeted.
The president said he has ordered more security personnel to be deployed to Colombia’s borders and along the routes in and out of cities. “I have also requested that priority be given to all the investigations...to identify the masterminds of this terrorist attack and their accomplices,” he added.
Ecuador’s President Lenin Moreno said an Ecuadoran cadet was among those killed and another sustained minor injuries. Panama’s President Juan Carlos Varela said two of his compatriots were injured in the attack.
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