Car bomber kills nine in Colombia police academy attack

The death toll from a car bomb blast outside a police academy in Colombia on Thursday has climbed to nine, officials said.

At least 54 people were reported injured in the explosion.

Police officers stand guard at the entrance of one of the hospitals where victims of a ‍car bomb explosion are being treated, according to authorities, in Bogota, Colombia, January 17, 2019. /Reuters Photo

The blast, which targeted the General Santander Police Academy in southern Bogota, happened outside the school at 09:30 (14:30 GMT).

Officials identified the man as Jose Aldemar Rojas, saying he drove into the academy aboard a 1993 grey Nissan Patrol car that was loaded with 80 kilos of high explosive pentolite.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

President Ivan Duque called the explosion a "crazy terrorist act" against unarmed cadets and said he had ordered police and the military to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

(CGTN)