The detonation of explosive devices on two bridges in Ecuador early on Wednesday (15 October) was retaliation for a major military operation against illegal miners, the country's interior minister said.
Interior Minister John Reimberg indicated that authorities suspected the criminal group Los Lobos, recently designated a terrorist organisation by Washington, was responsible.
"The line we are pursuing is one of retaliation for what we have been doing in Imbabura (province), in terms of controlling the strike and cracking down on illegal mining," Reimberg told a press briefing in the northern city of Otavalo.
No injuries were reported and no arrests have been made. Infrastructure Minister Roberto Luque suggested the attacks were intended to disrupt traffic.
One explosion damaged the base of a bridge in the province of Guayas, while another device only partially detonated in the province of Azuay.
The bridge explosions occurred just hours after a car bomb went off outside a shopping mall in Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city, late on Tuesday, leaving one dead and several injured.
Ecuador's military and air force on Monday destroyed several illegal mine entrances, which the army said were operated by organized crime groups seeking to protect a key income source.
Seven people were arrested in the military operation. Reimberg said some of those arrested belonged to the dissident Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) group.
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