Army troops retook a southern Colombian town which had been surrounded by Marxist rebels for nine days in one of the strongest challenges yet to the government's security policy. Soldiers in light tanks drove out of green surrounding mountains into Toribio in Cauca province to end a battle which began when rebels bombarded the town with home-made mortar shells on April 14, killing three police officers and a boy. Three soldiers were killed pushing back the rebels from around Toribio. But it was more the time the army needed than the casualty list which raised questions about the success of President Alvaro Uribe's military strategy to end a four-decade-old war. The army said it killed about 16 members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia -- a group roughly 13,000-strong, which is known by its Spanish initials FARC -- in its advance. But the sight of FARC rebels talking to journalists near Toribio on national television for several days running was a blow to government claims it has the rebels on the run. "Without doubt, it has been the biggest challenge to President Uribe's democratic security policy," said defense analyst Alfredo Rangel, using the government's name for its U.S.-backed defense strategy. Uribe's successes against the FARC are the main reason for an approval rating of about 70 percent, which the president's supporters hope will propel him to a second consecutive election victory next year.