Two politicians killed with long-range weapons in Colombia

A woman running for small town mayor and a candidate for city council have been among six people shot and killed in Colombia, an official says.

An armored car carrying all six was hit by long-range weapons and later set on fire in the attack Sunday night in southwest Cauca department, the regional ombudsman Jair Rossi told AFP on Monday.

Karina Garcia was running for mayor of the town of Suarez in October elections. The other fatalities included her mother and the city council candidate.

The Suarez area is torn by violence stemming from drug trafficking and illegal mining, Rossi said.

Garcia had received threats from supporters of other candidates, her father Orlando Garcia said.

The high commissioner for peace, Miguel Ceballos, blamed the attack on the leader of a local group of dissidents who broke with the leftist FARC rebel army.

SS