Bike bomb kills Colombian boy

Bike bomb kills Colombian boy

Rebels have forced people to carry bombs before

A 10-year-old Colombian boy has died after rebels apparently tricked him into riding a bicycle loaded with explosives to a military checkpoint.

Police say the frame of the bicycle had been filled with explosives which could have been detonated by remote control.

The blast on Thursday in the town of Fortul in Arauca state also injured three civilians.

The authorities blamed the attack on rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) who have been fighting a series of elected governments for almost four decades.

The group has been known to use bicycle bombs in the past, but in general have left them parked before they exploded.

The rebels have also used dogs and mules to carry bombs and they have forced hostages to drive cars loaded with explosives towards military installations.

But the BBC's Jeremy McDermott in Medellin says this is the first time a child has been used as an unwitting bomber.

Bus accident

Arauca has become the bloodiest front line in the 39-year civil conflict as the government selected it to be an emergency zone, the first target in the re-conquest of the country from the warring factions.

But the state offensive has become totally bogged down, and the guerrillas have replied with bombings and murders, showing the authorities what they can expect should they expand their attention to other rebel-held provinces.

Also on Thursday, 10 people were killed and 18 others injured in a bus accident.

The bus from Cali in the south-west to Medellin, north-west of the capital Bogota, crashed near the town of Irra in Risaralda department.