A criminal gang known as the Gulf Clan has been blamed for a bomb attack which killed eight police officers in north-western Colombia
The bomb had gone off on Wednesday when the officers were escorting officials handing back land to rural dwellers displaced by Colombia's armed conflict.

The 1,800-strong Gulf Clan is Colombia's biggest drugs gang. It controls many of the routes used to smuggle drugs from Colombia to the US and as far away as Russia.



Colombia's security forces have arrested or killed some of the top leaders of the gang in recent months. However, it remains a powerful force and has reportedly also been recruiting both left-wing former Farc rebels disgruntled with the peace process as well as their right-wing former paramilitary rivals.

Last Christmas, the Gulf Clan declared a temporary unilateral ceasefire and expressed its desire to negotiate with the government, but talks to convince its leaders to hand themselves in have so far not yielded any visible results.