Three dead after 'terror attack' explosion rocks Colombia tourist hotspot
AT LEAST three women have died and another 11 have been injured after a terror attack explosion rocked the Colombian capital of Bogata.
Bogata's mayor has described the explosion as a 'terrorist attack
The explosion targeted the busy Centro Andino Mall in the Zona Rosa neighbourhood, which is regarded as upper class and attracts a number of tourists.
Enrique Peñalosa, Bogota’s mayor, labeled the explosion a “cowardly terrorist attack”.
A 23-year-old French woman has been identified as one of the victims. She had spent six months volunteering in Colombia and was reportedly due to return to France in a matter of days.
The explosion is believed to have erupted in the women’s bathroom on the second floor of the shopping centre.
Emergency services have rushed to the scene and the entire shopping centre has been evacuated.
Three of the 11 injured are in a serious condition.
Authorities have turned their attentions to the country’s National Liberation Army, or ELN, which claimed it was responsible for a bombing near Bogota's bullring which killed one police officer and injured 20 other people in February.
Breaking: Andino mall evacuated after explosion #Bogota #Colombia reports of casualties pic.twitter.com/yXyjGQLtUX
— THE CITY PAPER (@citypaperbogota) June 17, 2017
Three women have died in the 'terror attack'
The Government last year reached a peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, which was much bigger than the ELN.
The ELN has refused to give up its weapons.
The ELN has refused to give up its weapons
Bogata has seen a drastic improvement in security during the last decade.
Yet the Andino shopping centre is expected to be a difficult target as all vehicles entering the car park are checked by bomb-sniffing dogs and security guards are placed around the vicinity.