Three policemen were killed last night in southern Chile in an attack that President Gabriel Borich called cowardly and prompted him to declare three days of national mourning , reported Reuters, quoted by BTA.
The attack took place in the municipality of Canete, Arauco province, after police responded to three false emergency calls, authorities said.
The employees were attacked in their vehicle with large-caliber weapons and burned, authorities said.
The area where the attack took place is an arena of long-standing tension between the state and the indigenous population of the South American country - the Mapuche ethnic group.
"This morning we learned the hard and painful news of an attack in the province of Arauco in which three police officers were killed. We coordinated immediate actions in response to this cowardly attack," Borich said in his post on social media "X". before leaving for the scene of the attack. "We will locate the perpetrators of this heinous crime," he added.