Colombian rebels kill 17 soldiers

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Left-wing Farc rebels in Colombia have killed 17 soldiers in the north-east of the country, the army has said.

It said an army patrol was ambushed in Norte de Santander province near the Venezuelan border late on Thursday.

It said reinforcements were sent to the area to flush out the rebels and the operation was under way. So far there has been no comment from Farc.

The latest attack is one of the deadliest since the re-election of President Alvaro Uribe in May.

Earlier this month, some 200 suspected Farc rebels launched an attack on a police station, killing 16 policemen and a civilian.

Mr Uribe, who has vowed to crush the rebels by the end of his term in 2010, has boosted spending on the military and launched major offensives against guerrillas.

He broke off talks with the rebels after a car bomb attack in the capital Bogota injured more than 20 people in October.

Farc - the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - is the largest rebel group in Colombia. It has been fighting the government for more than four decades.