Car Bomb and Attack on a Helicopter in Colombia Kill at Least 17, Including Police Officers

The Antioquia governor had said on X that a drone attacked the helicopter as it flew over coca leaf crops.
Car Bomb and Attack on a Helicopter in Colombia Kill at Least 17, Including Police Officers
Forensics inspect the site of a bomb explosion outside an Air Force base in Cali, Colombia, on Aug. 21, 2025. Santiago Saldarriaga/AP Photo
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BOGOTA, Colombia—A car bomb and a separate attack on a police helicopter in Colombia killed at least 17 people Thursday, according to authorities. President Gustavo Petro attributed both attacks to dissidents of the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, commonly known as FARC.

At least 12 police officers died in the attack on a helicopter that according to authorities was transporting personnel to an area in Antioquia in northern Colombia, to eradicate coca leaf crops, the raw material for cocaine. Petro had reported initially eight officers killed, but Antioquia Gov. Andrés Julián said four others died later and three remain injured.