JTIC exclusive - Colombian car bomb tactics take a new twist - Jane's International Security News

JTIC exclusive - Colombian car bomb tactics take a new twist - Jane's International Security News Three vehicles with explosives have been detonated in five days in the eastern province of Arauca, Colombia, killing six and injuring more than 20. Arauca is the province that the Colombian government, with the support of the US, has chosen as the test case for the reconquest of the country.

In a new twist to the 38-year rebel campaign, the drivers of the car bombs were still in the vehicles when the explosives were detonated. But they were not suicide bombers, nor did they have anything to do with the Marxist guerrillas - rather they were civilians intimidated and misled by the rebels.

In the third incident on January 11, the driver, Mauricio Avendaño Camargo, survived the explosion and explained to authorities that he had been told by guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to drive the vehicle to a location then get out. Two of his brothers were held hostage to ensure he complied. Except the bomb was detonated by remote control when the car arrived at a military checkpoint and a soldier was also injured in the blast.

What Avendaño did not realise was that the two previous car bombs had been driven by his two brothers who had been told the same thing and had died in the explosions.