New Delhi, Aug. 1 -- CUCUTA - A car bomb ripped through a police checkpoint on the outskirts of this Colombian border city on Saturday morning, wounding eight officers and three civilians, six days before incoming President Abelardo de la Espriella takes office on a hardline security platform that Colombia's armed groups have now publicly challenged.

George Quintero, security secretary for Norte de Santander department, confirmed from the scene that all eleven wounded had been taken to local hospitals. No fatalities were reported as of Saturday afternoon, though blast damage at the checkpoint suggested the device had been designed to strike security forces specifically, Al Jazeera reported.

No armed group immediately claimed the attack....