Colombian policemen killed in bombing as guerrilla group amplifies attacks

Two Colombian policemen died in a bombing Tuesday, allegedly carried out by a guerrilla group as it conducts "military exercises" in response to "intervention" threats from US President Donald Trump.

Police General Henry Bello said the pair was targeted while patrolling a neighbourhood of Colombia's third-biggest city, Cali, on a motorbike.

Their deaths brought to nearly 150 the number of police officers and soldiers killed by armed groups in the conflict-torn South American country this year.

The ELN guerrilla group, the largest in the Americas, imposed a three-day curfew on communities in areas under its control starting Sunday, and has since carried out more than 82 attacks, according to the armed forces.

The ELN vowed to fight for the country's "defense" in the face of "threats of imperialist intervention" from Trump, who said this month any country that produces cocaine and sells it to the United States was "subject to attack."

Colombia is the world's largest exporter of the drug, and the United States its biggest consumer.

The ELN had also warned people in cities including the capital Bogota and Medellin to avoid military installations for the three days.

On Sunday, President Gustavo Petro ordered the Colombian security forces to attack the ELN in response.

With a force of about 5,800 combatants, the ELN is present in over a fifth of Colombia's 1,100-plus municipalities, according to the Insight Crime research center.

The ELN has also taken part in failed peace negotiations with Colombia's last five governments.

A de facto organized crime group, the ELN vies for territory and control of lucrative coca plantations and trafficking routes with dissident fighters that refused to lay down arms when the FARC guerrilla army disarmed under a 2016 peace deal.

In January, the ELN killed dozens of people in an area bordering Venezuela, ending two years of peace talks with the government.

Historically strong relations between Bogota and Washington have soured under Petro -- Colombia's first-ever leftist leader -- since Trump's return to office in January.

The fierce critic of Trump's administration has been hit by sanctions, accused of drug trafficking, and seen his country removed from a list of US allies in the fight against drug trafficking.

On Tuesday, Washington said it was designating Colombia's largest drug-trafficking gang, the Clan del Golfo, as terrorists, even as the group is engaged in talks with Petro's government.