Colombian rebels kill nearly two dozen

BOGOTA, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Colombian rebels killed nearly two dozens soldiers in a firefight in northwest Colombia, military officials said Wednesday.

The fighting occurred near the Panamanian border and produced some of the worst losses for Colombian troops in months, totaling at least 20 soldiers.

Earlier this month, the Marist rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, killed 16 soldiers when they fired a homemade rocket at a military base. The next day eight more soldiers died when they drove over a land mine planted by the leftist rebels.

The Colombian government and the FARC have been battling for 40 years