Three women are dead and nine wounded after a bomb exploded in an upscale mall in Colombia’s capital, Bogotá. Colombia.
The bomb was hidden in a toilet in a second-floor restroom. It was fired remotely.
The upscale Andino shopping mall in Bogota was evacuated after the blast.
It seems to have been a sizeable bomb. Photos on social media showed victims pierced by shards of metal and one woman with her leg blown off.
President Juan Manuel Santos visited the attack site. He pledged to bring the perpetrators to justice.
“We won’t let terrorism frighten us,” Santos said from inside the shopping center. “Bogotanos should feel safe and protected. We won’t let our guard down but we mustn’t panic. That’s what terrorists want.”
He ordered an investigation, which is now under way.
Such attacks used to be common in Colombia. Until a few years ago, no one could enter a mall without being searched.
For decades Colombia was rent by conflict between the government and the various guerilla groups. Bombings, assassinations, and kidnappings were standard fare.
The largest of these, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) signed a peace deal with the government in 2016.
Colombians hoped the violence would end.
The second-largest group the communist National Liberation Army (ELN) injured dozens of policemen with a bomb that exploded in Bogotá in February.
No one has yet taken credit for this attack.
