Colombia's defense minister vowed Friday to defeat "desperate" armed groups after twin guerrilla attacks killed 19 people and deepened the country's worst security crisis in decades.

Minister Pedro Sanchez huddled with top security officials in the tropical city of Cali, where a truck bomb exploded on a busy street killing six and wounding 60 on Thursday afternoon.

Although the vehicle-mounted cylinder bombs detonated near a military aviation school, all of the victims were civilians, the authorities said.

"All of a sudden, something incredibly powerful exploded and everyone fell to the ground," eyewitness Jose Burbano told AFP.

Just hours earlier, guerrillas in the northwest of the country used rifles and drones to down a police helicopter, leaving 13 officers dead.

Despite the attac

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