Cauca, Colombia—Three police officers were killed Saturday when an improvised explosive device detonated beneath their vehicle. The patrol was moving through a rural sector of Cauca when the blast occurred, sending the armored unit spinning into the roadside vegetation.

Emergency reinforcements reached the site shortly after the explosion but found no survivors among the crew. The force of the detonation was significant enough to disable the vehicle and cause secondary fires in the nearby brush.

Local security forces have since locked down the perimeter to search for the perpetrators. Authorities suspect that members of an armed dissident group operating in the region planted the device to target security personnel moving along this specific supply route.

The attack marks an escalation in the ongoing conflict between state forces and illegal armed groups vying for control of territory in the southwest. Officials have characterized the strike as a deliberate attempt to destabilize the region ahead of planned security operations.

Investigators are currently combing the scene for forensic evidence that might identify the cell responsible for the placement of the IED. The road remained closed to civilian traffic throughout the afternoon as military bomb squads cleared the area for secondary hazards.

This incident follows a series of similar attacks on public infrastructure and security patrols in the region. Military commanders have announced an increase in aerial surveillance to monitor movement in the wooded hillsides surrounding the attack site.

The families of the fallen officers have been notified by the provincial police command. Flags at the regional station have been lowered to half-mast in mourning for the loss.

There is no indication of further casualties at this time, though the investigation into the coordination of the attack is still in its infancy.