Colombian army seizes ‘proof-of-life’ videos of 10 soldiers, police held hostage by guerrillas

October 10th, 2009 Explosions in Pakistan army HQ amid hostage crisisRAWALPINDI, Pakistan — Two loud explosions and gunshots have been heard from inside Pakistan's army headquarters, where Islamist militants are holding soldiers hostage. An Associated Press Television News cameraman close to the complex says the firing took place shortly before dawn on Sunday.

September 15th, 2009 BOGOTA - A FARC guerrilla who guarded 15 high-value hostages, including former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt who was rescued by the Colombian military last year, has surrendered, the army said. The guerrilla, known as "Angelo", turned himself in to soldiers in Miraflores, a hamlet in the southern province of Guaviare, and requested protection.

September 7th, 2009 BOGOTA - The Colombian army has found proof that several hostages held by the FARC guerrilla group, including some kidnapped in 1998, are alive. A man who was carrying the information in a USB computer memory stick has been arrested, an official has said.

August 18th, 2009 Videos of rebel-held hostages released in ColombiaBOGOTA — Videos of nine hostages held by Colombian rebels were turned over to their families Monday as proof they remain alive. Videos of six Colombian police officers and three soldiers were obtained by Sen.

August 2nd, 2009 15 Colombian soldiers convicted of homicideBOGOTA — A court has sentenced 15 Colombian soldiers to as much as 30 years in prison for the slaying of two brothers falsely identified as guerrillas, the Attorney General's Office announced Sunday. The sentences were handed down for the murder of brothers Arley Vallejo Cardona and Yon Garcia Cardona in May 2006 in Medellin, Colombia's second-largest city, the department said in a statement.

July 25th, 2009 Colombian: 16 rebels, 1 soldier killed in fightingBOGOTA — The Colombian military says at least 16 suspected guerrillas and one soldier have been killed in clashes. Defense Minister Gen.

July 9th, 2009 Uribe to Colombian rebels: free all hostagesBOGOTA — Colombian President Alvaro Uribe says he will allow an opposition senator to accompany the release of hostages held by FARC rebels. But his office set a stiff condition: the leftist insurgents must release all 24 police and soldiers they are known to hold.

June 23rd, 2009 7 Colombian police killed in rebel ambushBUENOS AIRES, Colombia — Colombian officials say rebels have killed at least seven members of a police counterinsurgency unit in an ambush in the country's southwest. The regional police commander, Gen.

May 1st, 2009 Colombia soldiers charged in civilians' killingsBOGOTA — Colombian authorities have arrested a retired lieutenant colonel and seven other soldiers in the killings of two civilians who they allegedly presented as guerrillas slain in combat to inflate rebel body counts. Prosecutors say five active soldiers and three retired officers were detained, including former Lt.

April 30th, 2009 BOGOTA - Eight Colombian soldiers were killed and another wounded in clashes with Leftist guerrillas in a mountainous area near the border with Venezuela, military sources said Thursday. The gunbattle between an army unit and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) fighters occurred Wednesday in the El Templado region in the restive Caribbean province of La Guajira.

April 30th, 2009 BOGOTA - Eight Colombian soldiers have been killed in a clash with leftist rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in the northeastern Perija mountains on the Venezuelan border. 'Unfortunately eight military officers died today in the province of La Guajira.

February 9th, 2009 BOGOTA - The leftist rebels of Colombia who have unilaterally freed six captives last week have now softened their terms to release other prominent hostages, EFE news agency reported Tuesday. In their messages handed over to opposition Senator Piedad Cordoba during last week's hostage releases, the leaders of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) said they were not ready to release other 22 top captives without a 'humanitarian exchange' that includes hundreds of jailed guerrillas.

February 5th, 2009 CALI - The leftist guerrillas of Colombia have released a former legislator they had taken hostage in 2002, the EFE news agency reported Friday. Sigifredo Lopez, a former regional legislator in the Valle del Cauca province, arrived in this southwestern city of Cali Thursday to a tumultuous welcome from family and friends.

February 3rd, 2009 VILLAVICENCIO - Leftist rebel guerrillas in Colombia have released a former provincial governor they had held hostage for more than seven years, EFE news agency reported Wednesday. Alan Jara, former governor of the central Colombian province of Meta, was brought to Villavicencio, a city near capital Bogota, in a Brazilian helicopter Tuesday hours after Yves Heller, spokesman of Red Cross Colombia, announced Jara's release.

February 1st, 2009 VILLAVICENCIO - Colombia's Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group has released three police officers and a soldier it had been holding hostage, EFE reported Monday. The four security forces members, who were kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 2007, were handed over to the mission led by opposition Senator Piedad Cordoba, activist and writer Ivan Cepeda, a spokesman for the non-governmental organization Colombianos por la Paz said.