At least one soldier and six guerrillas were killed in clashes between the Colombian army and the rebellious Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in the southwest city of Jambala, military sources said Thursday.

The sources said FARC, the rebel group that launched assaults in the town of Tacueyo in neighboring Toribio city, also injured three people in a bomb attack in a residential quarters there.

Also on Thursday, the rebel group assassinated a town councilorin the city of Hobo in the southwest department of Huila. The attack occurred when councilor Douglas Hernan Bautista was taking his children to school in Hobo. Two policemen were killed and two others injured.

Authorities said the assassination was carried out by rebels affiliated with Front Teofilo Forero, a mobile column of FARC, which is the main guerrilla organization of Colombia with at least17,000 members.

FARC spokesman Luis Eduardo Devia, nicknamed "Raul Reyes," announced in February an end to the strategic withdrawal of the group and the beginning of a nationwide escalation of military actions.

Source: Xinhua