Bogota (AFP) - The Colombian army said Saturday four FARC rebels were killed and three others wounded in a clash with troops conducting an operation in the central department of Meta.

The army said that among the dead was the head of finances for a FARC unit active in the area.

The fighting occurred "in the past hours" in the municipality of Vista Hermosa during an army operation to disrupt rebel fund-raising through extortion, it said.

The FARC unit involved in the fighting was allegedly responsible for the kidnapping of five oil workers in 2014, numerous incidents of extortion and hold-ups on Meta highways.

The FARC, Colombia's largest guerrilla group, has been in peace talks with the government since November 2012.

The guerrillas have declared a unilateral ceasefire and the government has reciprocated by suspending air strikes on rebel encampments, but not ground combat operations.

The conflict in Colombia has smoldered for more than half a century, with leftist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitary groups, government troops and drug traffickers all playing role in violence that has claimed more than 220,000 lives.