Militants kill 9 soldiers in attack on Colombia’s military

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Officials say militants in Colombia have killed nine soldiers and wounded nine others in an attack on a military unit that was securing a northern pipeline. The violence complicates efforts by the country’s new leftist president to negotiate a lasting peace. The assailants attacked early Wednesday with long-range weapons and improvised explosive devices in El Carmen, in Norte de Santander state near the Venezuelan border. The military’s preliminary assessment was that the attackers were from the National Liberation Army, or ELN. It would be the deadliest attack by the guerrillas since their resumption in November of peace negotiations with the government. It undermines efforts by President Gustavo Petro to bring “total peace” to the nation of 50 million people.