Incident Summary:

09/01/2008: On Monday night at 0005, a pick-up truck packed with explosives blew up in front of Palace of Justice, the city’s central court building, in downtown Cali, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia. The car bombing attack, which was carried out by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia’s (FARC) Manuel Cepeda Vargas Urban Front according to police, killed five civilians and wounded 26 others. In addition, the blast caused extensive damage to the Palace of Justice, destroying a large part of the building's first floor and several adjoining buildings, including the Attorney General's Office and the Aristi Hotel. No claim of responsibility was made for the incident, although Colombian daily El Tiempo reported in its online edition that FARC recently circulated news saying attacks were to escalate in retaliation to increasing military operations and Operation Jaque, which in July led to the liberation of top FARC hostage Ingrid Betancourt and 15 others. On 09/09/2008 on Tuesday, police arrested six suspected perpetrators who carried out the car bombing attack.