The 2003 Neiva bombing was a major bomb attack carried out by

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army (, FARC–EP or FARC) was a Marxist–Leninist Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian conflict starting in 1964. The FARC-EP was officially founded in ...

(FARC) rebels in the city of

Neiva Neiva () is the capital and most populated city of the Department of Huila, south central Colombia. It is located in the valley of the Magdalena River with a municipal population of 388,299. It is one of the most important cities in southern Co ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

on February 14, 2003. Sixteen people died and a dozen others were injured after the explosion of a

car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, van bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roug ...

near

Benito Salas Airport Benito Salas Airport (, ) is an airport that serves the city of Neiva, the capital of the Huila Department in Colombia. It was named after Benito Salas Vargas, a military and social leader during Colombia's (then known as New Granada) independ ...

. Police claimed FARC tried to blow up a plane carrying President

Álvaro Uribe Álvaro Uribe Vélez (born 4 July 1952) is a Colombian politician who served as the 31st President of Colombia from 7 August 2002 to 7 August 2010. Uribe started his political career in his home department of Antioquia Department, Antioquia. H ...

who was flying overhead. Nine police officers were among those who died. The explosive charge of the blast was 330-440 pounds. Police discovered the plot and raided the house. Because of this the terrorists decided to detonate the bomb at that moment instead, thus missing the President in the plane. The powerful blast managed to destroy five nearby houses and damaged 30 more. On the same day, two

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

operatives were captured by the guerillas in Colombia, whilst two others were thought to have been assassinated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neiva bombing, 2003 2003 murders in Colombia Car and truck bombings in Colombia February 2003 crimes in South America Huila Department Car and truck bombings in 2003 21st-century mass murder in Colombia Terrorist incidents in South America in 2003 Terrorist incidents in Colombia in the 2000s Massacres committed by FARC February 2003 in South America

See also

References