At least 10 guerrillas from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have been killed by the air force, Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon said Thursday.

Pinzon said it was a strong blow to the rebel group, adding that one of the killed was Pedron Lain Parra, a major leader of FARC Front 53, alias "John 26."

Acting upon a tip-off from the public, military units stormed a guerrilla camp after the air force bombed it, said Pinzon.

The operation occurred early Sunday in a mountainous area of difficult access near the town of Cubarral, Meta province, Pinzon told the RCN radio.

FARC, founded in the early 1960s by poor landless farmers, is fighting for better conditions in rural Colombia.

The government and FARC began peace talks in November 2012 in the Cuban capital of Havana, to seek an agreement that will end the half-century-old armed conflict.

A unilateral cease-fire from Dec. 15 to Jan. 15 declared by the rebels was not respected by the government, which said it wanted to maintain military pressure on the rebels to facilitate negotiations.

According to Colombian authorities, FARC has already violated its cease-fire with an attack Monday on a police helicopter in the northwest that left two police officers injured.