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Colombian army capture senior rebel member

30 July 2010 04:01 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. A senior member of the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) was captured by the Colombian army in an operation in the south of the country, the army said Thursday, APA reports quoting news.xinhuanet.com website.

The rebel member, alias "Didier", is believed to be "the trusted man" of the FARCâ€™s top leader Guillermo Leon Saenz, the army said in a statement published at its website.

The operation was carried out Wednesday in the rural area of southern Huila department, the army said, adding Didier was detained by surprise.

Didier, who has served in the FARC for 25 years, faces many charges, including "the killing of 12 soldiers in the rural area of Huila department, the killing of two professors and the role in a motorbike bomb attack in the Huila department," the statement said.

This was the third blow to the FARC this month since the Colombian authorities have mapped out a security scheme against the rebels.

Meanwhile, the army blamed the FARC for carrying out an attack Tuesday in the rural zone of northwestern Antioquia department, killing four Colombian soldiers and injuring two others.