39 people injured in attempt to kill former interior minister Fernando Londono, a vocal critic of rebel group the Farc
A bomb targeting a hardline Colombian former interior minister has killed two of his bodyguards and injured at least 39 people in Bogota.
The former minister and morning radio host, Fernando Londono, sustained minor wounds and was out of danger after being operated on to remove glass shards from his chest, authorities said. Video footage showed a stunned Londono, his face bruised, being led from the wreckage in a dark suit and red tie.
The Bogota mayor, Gustavo Petro, said a pedestrian attached an explosive to a door of Londono's armoured SUV and set it off remotely. Authorities had video of the attack, which took place in a busy and upmarket commercial district.
The attacker "walked away disguised" and a wig of long black hair and a hat were found in the area, Petro told reporters.
Bogota's police chief, General Luis Eduardo Martinez, blamed the country's main leftist rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (the Farc), for what is the first fatal and apparently politica bombing in the capital in nearly a decade. Before that, Bogota had been ravaged by car bombs set by drug traffickers fighting extradition to the United States.
President Juan Manuel Santos said immediately afterward that it was too early to assign blame and announced a $277,000 reward for information leading to those responsible. Santos did say that a Farc car bomb was detected and deactivated elsewhere in the capital on Tuesday.
Santos as defense minister in 2006-2009 dealt major setbacks to the rebels. After the attack he vowed to "eliminate terrorism from the face of the Earth".
Santos said Londono, 68, had in the past received death threats and had a sophisticated protection scheme involving about 19 bodyguards.
Londono was interior and justice minister in 2002-2003 when Alvaro Uribe was president. He hosts a daily radio show called The Hour of Truth and firmly opposes peace talks with the Farc, calling the rebels terrorists and murderers. He has accused Santos of being soft on the rebels, who have stepped up attacks in recent months.
The last major bombing in Bogota was in 2003, when the Farc devastated the exclusive El Nogal social club, killing 36 people. It was also blamed for a pre-dawn bombing outside a building housing Caracol radio in August 2010 that injured nine people.