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Eighteen Killed in Colombia Violence

Suspected leftist rebels ambushed a Colombian army patrol, detonated a car bomb in the capital Bogota, and unleashed another bomb in Colombia`s southwest, in all killing at least 18 people in a wave of surprise attacks taking place a week before a scheduled presidential inauguration. Leftist rebels ambushed and nearly wiped out an army patrol in the province of Norte de Santander, close to the border with Venezuela. The patrol was on its way to investigate reports of an illegal highway checkpoint when the guerrillas struck, killing 15 of 18 soldiers.

The number of deaths marked one of the deadliest days for the military since President Alvaro Uribe was first elected in 2002 on a pledge to bring peace after more than 40 years on civil conflict, often with drug lords. Police in the capital of Bogota have been on high alert ahead of Uribe`s upcoming August 7 inauguration after his re-election, to prevent a recurrence of his first inauguration`s immediate woes. As President Uribe took office in 2002, leftist rebels launched mortars that rained down on the presidential palace. Some of the projectiles fell short, into a nearby slum, killing 21.

The car bombing in Bogota took place as two trucks with 50 soldiers between them passed by, only 10 soldiers were wounded, while the blast ended up killing one civilian. In the third attack, a bomb blast killed two soldiers and wounded six others in the southwestern province of Narino. In the first attack, rebels from all of Colombia`s guerilla groups operate in the zone where it occurred, which is located about 285 miles northeast of the capital.