An ambush attributed to the Shining Path guerrilla group killed five soldiers in Peru on Saturday, the eve of the presidential elections.
The soldiers were ambushed in a rural area in the Apurimac and Ene river valleys (Valle de los Rios Apurimac y Ene – VRAE), a traditional base for the group. The victims were part of a military patrol driving to supervise elections in a nearby town.
Three men died at the scene, while two died later of their injuries, according to an official statement made Sunday.
The Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) has been in decline since the capture of its founder, Abimael Guzman, in 1992. But, as InSight has reported, the group has recently deepened its ties to drug trafficking, guarding narcotics shipments moving across the country’s highlands.