Ecuador targets Colombian rebels

The Farc is one of the world's most powerful guerrilla armies

Ecuadorian troops have destroyed a suspected Colombian rebel camp near the border between the two countries, Ecuador's defence ministry has said.

The camp was "probably used by irregular groups" from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), according to the ministry.

The discovery adds to evidence that the rebels regularly cross into Ecuador for refuge, correspondents say.

Bogota has accused Ecuador of failing to tackle Farc activity.

The jungle camp was discovered by an Ecuadorean army patrol in the province of Sucumbios, near the Colombian border, Reuters news agency says.

A nearby drug processing plant, assumed to belong to the Farc, was also destroyed, the agency quotes the defence ministry as saying.

The statement came despite an earlier denial by Ecuadorean Defence Minister Oswaldo Jarrin that Colombian armed groups operated in the country.

In Colombia, at least nine Colombian police officers died in an ambush blamed on Farc guerrillas, officials in Bogota said.

The police patrol was returning from eradicating coca crops in south-west Colombia.

More than 300 members of the security forces have been killed by guerrillas so far this year.