Ten-year-old boy killed in Colombia's first drone death

A ten-year-old boy has been killed in a drone attack, the first drone death in the country, according to the nation's defence ministry.

The grenade fell on a football field in the town of El Plateado and left 12 others injured, according to the country's army commander.

The ministry said Wednesday's attack was targeting soldiers and blamed the Carlos Patiño Front, a group of guerrillas who broke away from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) when the armed group signed a peace deal with the Colombian government in 2016.

A leader of the Carlos Patiño Front, Kevin Arcos, denied responsibility when contacted by AFP and blamed Colombia's army.

Defence minister Iván Velásquez Gómez expressed solidarity with the boy's family in a post on X, saying there would be a military offensive to "capture those responsible".

The incident in the southern Cauca region highlights the ongoing violence in the South American country.

Guerrillas are increasingly using commercially available drones to drop explosives on rivals.

In June, the Colombian army reported 17 drone attacks over six weeks, with no resulting deaths.

Drones have also been used by Colombia's government to increase surveillance.

Colombia's left-wing President Gustavo Petro is a former guerrilla fighter and has promised to bring peace by negotiating with remaining rebels.

The 2016 peace deal between the government and Farc aimed to end five decades of armed conflict, in which more than 260,000 people were killed and millions internally displaced.