A police captain was
killed and two people were injured during the search operation Thursday,
when suspected Shining Path rebels opened fire on a military
helicopter, Peru's government ombudsman said in a statement.
The Maoist rebels have
demanded $10 million in ransom for the hostages, the ombudsman said, in
addition to explosives and weapons.
But government officials
have said they will not negotiate with terrorists, and that searching
for the kidnapped workers was a top priority, the state-run Andina news
agency reported.
"We strongly reject any
force or action that threatens the lives or health of the workers held
hostage by terrorist criminals, and we demand the quick release of these
people without any conditions," government ombudsman Eduardo Vega said
in a statement.
Masked attackers kidnapped about 40 workers in the town of Kepashiato early Monday morning, Andina said.
Some of the hostages were
employees of the international construction company Skanska, according
to Andina. A company spokesman could not be immediately reached for
comment.
The kidnapping comes
after authorities' recent announcements that they had significantly
dismantled and defeated the rebel group.
At its peak, the Shining
Path spread terror in the country through a bombing campaign that
targeted buildings and infrastructure such as electricity towers.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the government fought a campaign that
greatly reduced the capacity of the terrorist group.
After Peruvian
authorities captured a longtime leader of the group in February,
President Ollanta Humala said the group was "no longer a threat to the
country."
"These are armed
remnants with a limited capacity to cause harm. ... Today this leader
and all of the main leaders have been captured," he told TVPeru at the
time.
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Source: CNN News
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