Nine people have been killed in an attack on a gold mine in Peru. The Interior Ministry of the Andean country reported that armed men entered a cave in the province of Pata, attacked the security forces of the Poderosa mining company, took four hostages and detonated explosives.
Fifteen people were injured and seven others were arrested. The police then reportedly brought the situation under control.
The attackers are suspected of being linked to the phenomenon of illegal mining. The prefect of the La Libertad region, Carolina Velasco, told the newspaper La República that they are suspected to be contract killershired to react to the authorities’ crackdown on illegal gold mining.