Man killed in Colombian jungle clash not Irish

A British man has reportedly shot dead during clashes between Colombian troops and the country’s second largest guerilla group.

The Colombian army named the victim as 28-year-old Jeremy Parks and said he died in Choco, in the north west of the country, yesterday.

Local media initially said the victim was Irish. Three Irish men were arrested in August after allegedly training with another group of left wing rebels in the country.

But the army said documents found on the body indicated that Mr Parks was a British citizen.

A 28-year-old man called Jeremy Parks, from Bromley, south east London, is known to have been travelling in the region recently.

But a Foreign Office spokeswoman in London said no confirmation could be given of reports that he was the victim.

The man died during fighting in the jungle between the Colombian military and the rebel National Liberation Army (ELN).

If the victim was Mr Parks, it was not immediately clear how he came to be caught up in fighting in the Choco region.

The ELN regularly kidnaps people, but the army said it had no record of an abduction involving Mr Parks.

The three Irishmen, IRA suspects Niall Connolly, James Monaghan and Martin McCauley, are waiting to stand trial in the Colombian capital Bogota after being arrested in possession of false passports.

The authorities suspect them of training terrorists in bomb making techniques as they had spent several weeks in an area controlled by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams last week admitted that Mr Connolly had acted as his party’s representative in Cuba - a claim that had been earlier vehemently denied.

It is believed the trio could languish in prison for two years while lawyers compile a case against them. If convicted they could face up to 20 years in prison.