Rebels execute four captives

COLOMBIA’S main rebel group executed four of its longest-held captives during combat between guerrillas and soldiers searching for the men, the government said.

A fifth captive fled into the jungle and survived.

President Juan Manuel Santos called the killing of a soldier and three police officers “a crime against humanity” and dismissed any suggestions that Colombia’s armed forces might be responsible.

“They were held hostage for between 12 and 13 years and wound up cruelly murdered.”

A senior Defence Ministry official said government troops were not attempting to rescue the captives but trying to locate them based on intelligence indicating the rebels were holding them in the area. The official agreed to discuss the operation only if granted anonymity.