BOGOTA, Feb. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- The Colombian military on Saturday denied a newspaper report that guerrillas infiltrated in a naval base and launched an attack from within.

    The el Tiempo daily indicated that the attack this week againstthe Iscuande base west of Narino department, which left 16 dead, had been launched by guerrillas who had infiltrated the base.

    The paper quoted military sources as saying that seven Marines mysteriously disappeared after the attack. "The whereabouts of seven marines who ought to have been at the base is a mystery. Their names did not appear in any list," said the paper.

    But Joint Chiefs of Staff Carlos Ospina said there has been no information on infiltration of guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in the Iscuande naval base.

    "We have not had any type of information or suspicion on infiltration of guerrillas at the Iscuande station," he said.

    He also denied the disappearance of marines after the attack.

    The 17,000-strong FARC is the largest and oldest insurgent organization in Colombia. Enditem