The Washington Post
Colombian rebel leader reportedly killed in military strike
September 24--Fighter-bombers have reportedly killed the legendary military strategist of Colombia's main rebel group, a strike that President Juan Manuel Santos on Thursday called the biggest yet against a guerrilla organization that has been fighting the state since the 1960s.
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The commander known as Jorge Briceno, 57, was killed Wednesday morning when Colombian aircraft bombed a large rebel base operated by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, in the country's remote south. Colombian commandos later recovered the body, and the military confirmed the identity of the rebel chief Thursday, Defense Minister Rodrigo Rivera told reporters in Bogota.
Santos, a former defense minister who has close ties to the Obama administration, called the guerrilla's death a "historic moment for Colombia" in comments at the U.N. headquarters in New York.
"This is the most important blow ever against the FARC," Santos, who took office last month, told Colombians in remarks carried on national television. "He was a symbol of terror who had done so much damage to our country."
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