US reacts cautiously to Colombian rebel announcement The United States reacted cautiously Monday to a pledge by Colombia's FARC rebels to release all 10 remaining "prisoners of war." "We would support the release of these hostages as an important step forward," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters. "And we note that the FARC has promised to release all of its prisoners before, so obviously, we'll want to see these steps actually implemented," Nuland said. "But it is a good thing that they've made the commitment, and now we need to see it happen," she added. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels pledged Sunday to release all 10 remaining "prisoners of war" and to stop kidnapping for ransom, but Nuland did not react to the pledge to stop abductions. The concessions came three months after FARC set off massive anti-rebel protests throughout Colombia by allegedly executing four long-time hostages during a government raid. "Prisoners of war" refers only to police and military personnel and the statement did not make clear if the guerrillas intended to release hundreds more civilian prisoners still thought to be in their custody. The FARC statement also stopped short of agreeing to cease hostilities with the government and failed to spell out if Colombian security forces would still be considered legitimate targets for hostage-taking. Another State Department spokesperson added that the United States also echoes a call by Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos "for the FARC to renounce all violence and lawlessness, and release all hostages."