7 Killed, 138 Injured in Colombian Car-Bomb Explosion

Seven people were killed and 138 injured in a car-bomb explosion in Medellin, the second largest city in Colombia, police said Friday.

The blast came late Thursday only hours after the release of 201 people -- victims of the largest mass kidnapping in Colombia's history -- by a right-wing paramilitary group.

At least 30 kilograms of plastic explosives were set off inside a Volkswagen sedan at 10:05 p.m. local time Thursday (0305 GMT Friday) at Lleras Square, a popular park in the city, said Medellin Mayor Luis Perez.

Six people died within hours after the explosion and the seventh victim, a young woman, died early Friday, officials said.

It was the second car bombing this month in a major Colombian city. Nobody has so far claimed responsibility. The police and Colombia's secret service have started an investigation to search for the bomber whom the mayor said must be "demented."

Witnesses reported seeing two women and two men getting out of the explosives-ladened car, which was detonated by remote control, after being parked on the square.

The attack could also have been carried out by drug traffickers opposed to the extradition of Colombians to the United States, the police authorities said.

President Andres Pastrana, who has in recent months authorized a number of extraditions, was due to arrive late Friday in Medellin to direct a security council, government sources said.

Medellin, a notorious drug trafficking center, is often wracked by violence from the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army rebel groups, as well as the right-wing United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) .

While guerrillas and paramilitary groups have been engaged in open warfare around the country and killing many civilians in the process, officials said drug traffickers have been supporting both sides, adding to the violence.

The latest outbreak of violence came hours after the AUC released 201 people kidnapped Tuesday in Villanueva, 280 kilometers northeast. The AUC said they were checking for communist infiltrators.

It was the biggest mass kidnapping in the country, which has been racked by 37 years of civil war that has so far seen some 200, 000 people killed.

Two weeks ago, a car bomb in Cali, Colombia's third largest city, killed four and injured dozens, including several members of a professional soccer team.






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