A bomb attack inside a shopping mall in one of the most exclusive areas of Colombia’s capital Bogota killed at least three and injured nine people on Saturday.

According to Mayor Enrique Peñalosa, three women were killed in the terrorist attack.

This claim was later confirmed by the president and police authorities.

Lamento informar que son 3 las mujeres fallecidas por bomba en Centro Andino. Otra está grave, pero no en riesgo de muerte. — Enrique Peñalosa (@EnriquePenalosa) June 18, 2017

One of the fatal victims was a 23-year-old woman from France. The mayor identified the French victim as Julie Juynh.

Julie Huynh, jóven francesa de 23 años muerta en atentado, llevaba 6 meses trabajando como voluntaria en colegio de sector popular. — Enrique Peñalosa (@EnriquePenalosa) June 18, 2017

The explosion took place on Saturday around 5PM in a ladies bathroom on the second floor of the Andino shopping mall, located in one of Bogota’s most exclusive neighborhoods in the east of the city.

The National Police issued a warning a few weeks ago that paramilitary group AGC was planning to carry out terrorist attacks “in Medellin and/or Bogota.”

Previous bomb attacks in Bogota were commonly blamed on urban militias or gangs loyal to guerrilla groups ELN and the now-demobilizing FARC guerrilla group.

According to local newspaper El Tiempo, some 500 people were in the vicinity of the bathroom when the explosion took place.

Anti-explosives agents and firemen were sent to the shopping mall, while guards and local police evacuated the building, the newspaper reported.

The injured went sent to nearby hospitals while police closed nearby roads.

With authorities on high alert for so-called “spoiler” attacks by armed actors opposing an ongoing peace process with Marxist FARC guerrillas, President Juan Manuel Santos said on Twitter he immediately had ordered National Police director Jorge Hernando Nieto to personally take charge of the investigation.

Frente a los hechos en el CC Andino, ordené al @GeneralNietoR dirigir investigación y mantenerme al tanto. Mi solidaridad con las víctimas. — Juan Manuel Santos (@JuanManSantos) June 17, 2017

The president, who was on a visit in Cartagena, said he would immediately return to Bogota and personally oversee police efforts to find out who is behind the bomb attack and why.

Mi más enérgica condena al atentado en CC Andino. Regresando a Bogotá en este momento para ponerme al frente de la situación. — Juan Manuel Santos (@JuanManSantos) June 18, 2017

Bogota has seen several bomb attacks over the past few years, but never targeting a location as crowded as the Andino mall on a Saturday afternoon.

ELN guerrillas have been carrying out bomb attacks in the city for decades, but due to the peace process the chance of so-called “spoiler attacks” to destabilize the country’s peace process would not be impossible

Such attack would mark an sudden new phase of Colombia’s peace process that had already gone in overdrive after smaller “spoiler” incidents, but in the countryside, not one of the most exclusive areas in Bogota that would guarantee major headlines and send a shock wave through the entire country.

Several social leaders have been assassinated since peace was signed on December 1 last year.

In some of these cases, these assassinations appeared spoiler attacks meant to destabilize the process.

Until Saturday, Colombia’s cities for years have noticed little from either the armed conflict or the peace process with the FARC, the country’s oldest and largest guerrilla group that earlier Saturday vowed to be disarmed by Tuesday.</s>BOGOTA (Reuters) - Three women were killed and nine wounded after an explosive device detonated in a restroom in a busy upscale shopping center in Colombia’s capital on Saturday.

Rescue personnel and an ambulance are seen behind yellow tape outside the Andino shopping center after an explosive device detonated in a restroom, in Bogota, Colombia June 17, 2017. REUTERS/Jaime Saldarriaga

The Andino shopping mall in an exclusive area of Bogota was evacuated after the blast, which occurred around 5 p.m. local time (2200 GMT) in the women’s toilet. The commercial center was packed with people buying gifts ahead of Father’s Day celebrations on Sunday.

Police said the device was placed in a toilet bowl in the second-floor restroom. President Juan Manuel Santos denounced the attack and promised to bring those responsible to justice.

“We won’t let terrorism frighten us,” Santos said from inside the shopping center.

“Bogotanos should feel safe and protected. We won’t let our guard down but we mustn’t panic. That’s what terrorists want.”

One of the victims was a 23-year-old French woman who had been volunteering in a poor area of the city, Bogota Mayor Enrique Penalosa told reporters.

Streets surrounding the shopping center were closed and buildings cleared as ambulances raced to the scene and security officials tried to establish who was responsible for the blast. Bomb squad specialists combed the area for additional devices.

Photographs on social media showed a woman slumped against the wall in a pool of blood and what appeared to be a shard of metal piercing her back. In front of her was another woman with her leg torn apart above the knee.

Another image showed the destroyed toilet cubicle with a blood-splattered handrail and debris strewn over the floor.

Santos ordered an investigation into the incident.

Security has improved in Bogota over the past decade as police and military increased surveillance and put more armed officials on the streets. At one time all bags were checked at the entrance to shopping malls, but that has been vastly scaled back in recent years.

Sniffer dogs still check cars at parking facilities in the capital.

A peace accord signed last year with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country’s biggest guerrilla group, raised confidence bomb attacks might cease.

The country’s second-largest insurgent group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), in February exploded a bomb in Bogota, injuring dozens of police.

The Marxist ELN, currently negotiating peace with the government, in a tweet condemned the attack against civilians.

Authorities said there have been threats of attacks in Bogota by the so-called Gulf Clan, a group of former right-wing paramilitary fighters who traffic drugs.</s>Explosion at the Andino mall in Bogotá, Colombia, leaves 1 dead and 11 injured; mayor calls it a terrorist attack</s>A bomb attack in one of Bogota‘s largest shopping malls killed three and injured at least 11 people, the mayor of Colombia’s capital said Saturday.

According to Mayor Enrique Peñalosa, one person was killed in the “terrorist attack.” Media or other authorities did not immediately confirm whether the shopping mall had been bombed or that the explosion was due to an accident.

According to Caracol TV journalist Alejandro Giraldo, one of the fatal victims was a 23-year-old woman from France.

The explosion took place on Saturday around 5PM in a ladies bathroom on the second floor of the Andino shopping mall, located in one of Bogota’s most exclusive neighborhoods in the west of the city.

The National Police issues a warning a few weeks ago that paramilitary group AGC was planning to carry out terrorist attacks “in Medellin and/or Bogota.”

Previous bomb attacks in Bogota were commonly blamed on urban militias or gangs loyal to guerrilla groups ELN and the now-demobilizing FARC guerrilla group.

According to local newspaper El Tiempo, some 500 people were in the vicinity of the bathroom when the explosion took place.

Anti-explosives agents and firemen were sent to the shopping mall, while guards and local police evacuated the building, the newspaper reported.

The injured went sent to nearby hospitals while police closed nearby roads.

With authorities on high alert for so-called “spoiler” attacks by armed actors opposing an ongoing peace process with Marxist FARC guerrillas, President Juan Manuel Santos said on Twitter he immediately had ordered National Police director Jorge Enrique Nieto to personally take charge of the investigation.

A witness told Blu Radio that following the explosion the floor there was a smell of gunpowder. A second witness told Caracol Radio the explosion left a lot of smoke.

Bogota has seen several bomb attacks over the past few years, but never targeting a location as crowded as the Andino mall on a Saturday afternoon.

If other authorities confirm the Bogota mall was the target of a terrorist attack, this would mark an entirely new phase of Colombia’s peace process.

Dozens of mainly social leaders have been assassinated since peace was signed, but mainly in former FARC territory. Colombia’s cities over the past years have noticed little from either the armed conflict or the peace process.

‘Terrorist attack’ in Bogota shopping mall kills 3, injures at least 11 was last modified: by</s>Blast leaves one dead, several injured in Colombia's capital Bogotá

An explosion in Colombian capital killed one person and injured several, Sputnik reported.

An explosion in the Centro Andino shopping center in Colombia's capital of Bogotá killed one person and injured eleven. Bogota Mayor Enrique Penalosa announced that it was a terrorist attack.

"A coward terrorist attack in Centro Andino hurts me. There is one woman dead and… 11 injured," Penalosa wrote on Twitter.

Penalosa also said that the victim was a 23-year-old French woman.</s>The powerful explosion that rocked a shopping center in the Colombian capital’s tourist district has been called a terrorist attack by Bogota’s mayor. At least three women, including a French volunteer, died in the blast. Several others were seriously injured.

Bogota Mayor Enrique Peñalosa has tweeted that three women were killed in the “bomb” blast, and one more remains in serious condition. Peñalosa has called the explosion a “cowardly terrorist attack.”

The explosion targeted the Centro Andino Mall in the Zona Rosa neighborhood, which is regarded as one of the most luxurious upper-class and tourist districts in Latin America. The blast occurred in the women’s restroom on the mall’s second floor.

One of the victims has been identified as a 23-year-old French woman who had spent six months volunteering in Colombia. The woman, who is said to have worked in a poor Colombian neighborhood, was reportedly killed days before her planned return to France.

The other two victims, who have been identified in a hospital statement as a 31-year-old woman and a 27-year-old woman, are believed to be Colombian. The statement said one woman remains in critical condition.

Earlier, extremely graphic images of seriously injured women and a video showing a smoke-filled mall corridor appeared on social media.

RT Spanish earlier cited police as confirming at least 11 injuries were caused by the blast.

Ambulances and fire engines are working at the scene, and the entire mall has reportedly been evacuated.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos strongly condemned the attack, announcing that he was returning to the capital to take charge of the situation.

France's ambassador to Colombia, Gautier Mignot, tweeted that he is “shocked by the death” of a French woman in the blast and vowed to provide support for the victim’s family.

Meanwhile, messages of condolences for the victims and words of support for the Colombian government have started pouring in. The Mexican government said it “expresses its solidarity with the people and the government of Colombia,” and “deplores the loss of human lives.”

Conveying its condolences to the families of the victims and those who were affected by the blast, the US Embassy in Bogota pledged to “provide any support requested by the Colombian authorities” in the aftermath of the attack.

Meanwhile, the National Liberation Army (ELN), a guerrilla group engaged in an ongoing armed standoff with government forces, denied responsibility for the attack.

“ELN-Paz repudiates the attack on Centro Comercial Andino against civilians. We share the pain and we sympathize with the victims,” the group’s negotiators wrote on its official Twitter account.

In February, ELN claimed responsibility for the bomb attack in Bogota, in which a police officer was killed and dozens of people were injured, including civilians.</s>iStock/Thinkstock(BOGOTA) — An explosion at a Colombia shopping mall left three people dead and nine injured on Saturday, ABC News has confirmed.

Enrique Penalosa, the mayor of Bogota, Colombia, called the incident, which took place in the women’s bathroom on the second floor of Centro Andino, a “cowardly terrorist attack.” Police said the explosion was caused by a device placed behind a toilet bowl.

One of the deceased has been identified as Julie Huynh, a 23-year-old French national who had spent the past six months volunteering in the public school sector. The other two died were also women, ages 27 and 31.

Of the injured, one is in grave condition but is expected to survive, while the other eight are in less serious condition.

It’s unclear who’s responsible. An anti-terror investigation is being conducted by the Colombian prosecutor’s office.

The U.S. Embassy in Bogota offered condolences in a series of tweets, adding that it’s standing by to “provide any support requested by the Colombian authorities.”

Centro Andino is home to a number of high-end stores including Dolce & Gabbana, Versace and Louis Vuitton.</s>A bomb detonated inside Centro Andino Mall, one of Bogota, Colombia’s high-end shopping centers, claimed the lives of three women including a French national and wounded 11 others. Authorities are still trying to determine those responsible for the attack, but initial reports say that the rebel movement National Liberation Army, also known as ELN, denied responsibility for the incident.

The explosive, suspected to be a homemade bomb using ammonium nitrate, was placed inside the women’s bathroom of Centro Andino, according to ABC News. The shopping center is an upscale mall located in the Zona Rose area, considered to be one of the more high-end tourist districts in Bogota, Colombia.

According to witnesses, stores and movie theaters inside the mall were quickly evacuated after the Centro Andino blast. Firetrucks and ambulances rushed to the location to give immediate medical assistance to the victims. Unfortunately, three were reported to have succumbed to injuries sustained from the explosion, while 11 others were rushed to the hospital to receive treatment.

One of the fatalities of the Bogota bombing is a 23-year-old French woman identified as Julie Huynh, according to New.com.au. Huynh was doing volunteer work in Colombia’s poor neighborhood and was already preparing to return to France in a few days after a six-month stay in the Latin American country. In a tweet, Gautier Mignot, France’s ambassador to Colombia, vowed support to the victim’s family.

Meanwhile, a hospital statement revealed that the other two Centro Andino bombing fatalities are also women with ages 31- and 27-years-old, according to an RT report. At the moment, no names have been released but both are believed to be Colombian nationals. Of the 11 injured, one woman is still in critical condition.

Bogota Mayor Enrique Penalosa condemned the attack, calling it a “cowardly terrorist bombing.” Meanwhile, Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos, who visited the site, refused to make any speculations on the motive and the group behind the bombing.

Attention is currently focused on Colombia’s rebel movement National Liberation Army (ELN) as the group previously claimed responsibility for a February bombing that killed a police officer. However, ELN, which is currently in peace talks with the government, denied involvement in the attack via a Twitter post.</s>Three people were killed in one of Colombia’s biggest shopping malls Saturday after a homemade bomb placed in the women’s bathroom exploded.

Police say the explosive that killed 3 and wounded 9 others was possibly made of ammonium nitrate.

Witnesses say they were evacuated from the Centro Andino Mall, a shopping center located in Colombia’s capital, after the blast.

Emergency units rushed to the scene and the injured were taken to a nearby hospital where two victims later died.

Mayor Enrique Penalosa called the attack a “cowardly terrorist bombing,” which turned the focus on the National Liberation Army which is the last rebel movement still active in Colombia. ELN, as it is also known by, has had a history of attacks in the capital of Bogota but the rebel group’s leaders denied any involvement in Saturday’s bombings.

“We ask for seriousness from people making unfounded and reckless accusations,” ELN negotiators at peace talks taking place in neighboring Ecuador said on Twitter. “This is the way people are trying to tear up the peace process.”

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos made a visit to the bomb site late Saturday evening where he condemned the attack but declined to speculate who was behind it.

“The best answer to cowardly terrorism is to not let it unnerve us,” he said.

The president also said that he would meet with top security advisers Sunday before heading out on a scheduled trip to Europe.

One of the victims included a 25-year-old French citizen. The woman, identified as Julie Huynh, was living in Bogota for the past six months volunteering at a school in a poor neighborhood. Huynh was expected to return to France in the coming days.

“The French know perfectly how to respond to these terrorist attacks,” President Santos said, “and we Colombians too have the will not to let ourselves be intimidated.”

The president is expected to visit France on his European tour.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.</s>An explosion at a Colombian shopping mall has left one person dead and at least 11 injured, ABC News has confirmed.

Enrique Penalosa, the mayor of Bogota, Colombia, called the incident, which appears to have taken place on the second floor of Centro Comercial Andino, a “cowardly terrorist attack.”

Local media reports that the mall has been evacuated and officials are at the scene investigating.

Centro Comercial Andino is home to a number of high-end stores including Dolce & Gabbana, Versace and Louis Vuitton.
A suspected terrorist bomb explosion in an Andino shopping mall's ladies room in Bogotá, Colombia, kills three women and injures at least 11.