BOGOTA – Five people were shot to death while traveling through a rural area near the southwestern Colombian town of Suarez, police said Sunday.

The travelers were murdered Saturday near the hamlet of Timba, the National Police office in Popayan, the capital of Cauca province, said.

Unidentified individuals opened fire on the vehicle carrying the travelers, who were headed to Alto Naya, a mountainous area on the border between Cauca and Valle del Cauca provinces.

The increase in crime in the area has been blamed on drug traffickers battling for control of turf and smuggling routes.