At least 21 people were killed and dozens injured in a car bomb blast at a police academy in Colombia's capital, Bogotá, on Thursday morning, according to officials, who called it a terrorist act.
Columbia's defense minister blamed the attack on a leftist rebel group called the National Liberation Army, or ELN, which has carried out occasional attacks in the country. The bombing has stoked anxiety about a return to the decades when innocent Colombians got caught up in conflicts with rebel groups and drug cartels.
Chaos pierced the calm Thursday when a man drove up to the gates of the Escuela General Santander around 9:30 a.m. local time, according to local news reports. He accelerated, crashing into a wall. Then the explosion went off, NPR reports.
Chief Prosecutor NĂ©stor MartĂnez identified the attacker as JosĂ© Aldemar Rojas, an ELN operative who had previously lost an arm in an explosives accident, according to The Associated Press. He was allegedly driving a 1993 Nissan SUV loaded with 175 pounds of pentolite, a highly explosive material.
Colombia's Health Ministry said 35 people were wounded in the blast. Other sources put the number at 54.