Colombia bomb blast kills 10 outside disco

A REMOTE-CONTROLLED bomb on a motorcycle exploded as revellers left a disco in a southwestern city early yesterday, killing 10 people and wounding 48 others, army officials said.

The bomb went off outside the disco around 4am in the upscale Zona Rosa district of nightclubs and bars in Florencia, 200 miles southwest of the capital, Bogota. A nine-year-old boy and two policemen were among the dead.

General Luis Alberto Ardila, the commander of the army's 2nd Division in Florencia, said he suspected the country's largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), were responsible for the bombing.

"We've had two attacks like this in less than a year carried out by the FARC," Gen Ardila said. "Although the explosive wasn't powerful, it caused a lot of casualties because it was placed in front of a disco which a lot of people were exiting."

The attack comes amid a FARC campaign to disrupt state and mayoral elections scheduled for October 25. The guerrillas have hit energy and rail targets and bridges in the past few weeks.

Security forces have responded by carrying out mass arrests of suspected rebel fighters.

Florencia Police Chief Col Rafael Parra immediately offered a reward of $17,500 for information leading to an arrest. He also called for residents to donate blood.