Thirteen troops have been killed in two ambushes by rebels in a mountainous region of Peru where security forces are fighting cocaine traffickers.
Defense Minister Antero Flores said on Saturday that both attacks took place on Thursday in Ayacucho province, a coca-growing area and the birthplace of the Shining Path guerrilla group.
He told a news conference the rebels used grenades and dynamite to attack army patrols as they passed.
The attacks bring to 11 the number of assaults on security services by rebels since the start of the year.
