Coca/Cocaine, Crime, Insurgency, Law & Justice, Politics, Provinces

Two Police Officers Killed In Narcotics-Related Ambush – Report

Two narcotics police officers were killed early Saturday in an attack near Kepashiato, in the north Cusco region, local media reported.

Initial reports said it was Shining Path fighters who ambushed the dawn patrol of anti-drug police in the town of Cielo Punco, located in the high jungles of Cusco’s La Convencion province.

Since then, however, the Police Anti-Drug office, Dirandro, has reported that the attackers are believed to have been drug traffickers who may have sought to kill an informant and the police chief  who were travelling with the police patrol.  An additional indication, police said, was that the deaths were not caused by high-powered weapons usually used by Shining Path fighters.  

Terrorism expert Pedro Yaranga said that two other police officers were injured, and others were missing, according to daily La Republica.

Attacks by the Shining Path in La Convencion are common. Last week, rebels burned three helicopters in the airstrip of Kiteni. The helicopters were being used by Transportadora de Gas de Peru, a consortium that operates a pipeline that transports gas from the Camsiea fields to Peru’s pacific coast.

Other prominent attacks during the last few months include the August killing of five soldiers, and the April kidnapping of 36 natural gas workers, which resulted in the killing of 10 state security personnel.

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