Colombia police killed in ambush

Police and security forces are patrolling towns in the area

Seven police officers have been killed in an ambush by Farc rebels in the south-western province of Cauca, authorities in Colombia say.

Officials said the attack was part of a wider battle in which at least 25 rebels were killed when the Colombian airforce bombed their base.

A regional Farc commander accused of several car bombings in the city of Cali is thought to be among the dead.

President Alvaro Uribe has weakened the Farc since he took office in 2002.

But the left-wing rebel movement is still active in large areas of rural Colombia.

Police said a local rebel commander known as "El Enano", or "The Midget", appeared to be among the guerrillas killed in the fighting near the town of Buenos Aires, in the province of Cauca.

Government security forces continued battling members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as Farc, into Monday night around the town, authorities said.

The Marxist Farc rebels have been waging a 44-year-long guerrilla war against the Colombian government.