BOGOTA, July 7: Leftist rebels shot down an army helicopter over rugged terrain in an oil-producing region of eastern Colombia today, killing 21 soldiers and four civilians, military sources said.It was originally thought all on board were killed, but four soldiers, two of whom were suffering from extensive burns, managed to survive and made their way to a nearby army post in circumstances that were not immediately clear, official sources said.The Russian-made MI-17 chopper, contracted out by a civilian aviation company, was flying to a remote area in Arauca province after National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels dynamited a section of Colombia's largest oil pipeline earlier in the day, head of the Army Gen Manuel Jose Bonett said.The pipeline serves the Cano Limon field operated by US multinational Occidental Petroleum Corp.``The helicopter was taking a security force to the zone to assist pipeline repair work. It was hit in the air at a height of between 100 metres and 200 metres, crashed to the ground and burst into flames,'' Bonett told a press conference.He said ELN guerrillas had hidden in houses close to where they blew up the pipeline near the town of Arauquita and waited for the helicopter to arrive before emerging and firing on it.Among the dead were an officer, two junior officers and four civilian crew members.It is the highest death toll inflicted on the army by rebels since the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) raided a military base in southern Putumayo province last August, killing 31 soldiers and capturing 60 others.It was the 35th attack this year on the pipeline. Rebels often target the oil industry, causing tens of millions of dollars in damage and lost revenue annually.Air and ground troops were sent to the area, believed to be heavily mined, to recover the dead. But one of the helicopters, a US-made Blackhawk, came under fire as it tried to land close to the crash site. It left the area without being hit, a military source said.,All Latin American countries face severe exploitation at the hands of American multinationals.
