Seven killed by Medellin car bomb

Nobody has claimed responsibility for the blast

At least seven people have been killed and 138 injured by a car bomb which exploded late on Thursday night in the Colombian city of Medellin.

We've had a lot of recent successes against criminal gangs. It wouldn't be surprising if these bands, out of desperation, are behind the attack

Medellin mayor

Police said up to 30 kilograms of dynamite were set off inside a red Volkswagen Beatle at Llearas square in the affluent El Poblado suburb shortly after 2200 (0300 GMT on Friday).

Firefighters rushed to the scene, and local television showed people bleeding after being hit by flying glass.

Police said the car exploded next to a park lined with discos, bars and restaurants popular with businesspeople and students.

Nobody has yet claimed responsibility for the blast.

The BBC's Jeremy McDermott in Medellin says whoever placed the bomb in the vehicle knew the victims were going to be young, wealthy and that there would be plenty of them.

Criminal gangs

Medellin Mayor Luis Perez Gutierrez said the attack could be linked to a recent police crackdown on the city's notorious organised crime.

"We've had a lot of recent successes against criminal gangs. It wouldn't be surprising if these bands, out of desperation, are behind the attack," he told a local radio station.

Earlier this year a car bomb engulfed a shopping centre in Medellin.

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

Medellin was the scene of frequent bombings by drug traffickers in the 1980s and early 1990s.

The city is notorious as a narcotics centre, and although the cartel operated by former drugs baron Pablo Escobar has been dismantled, the city is still plagued by drug-related violence.

Our correspondent says Colombia's civil conflict and the drug wars are entering the cities with increasing frequency as violence reaches record levels, with more civilians being killed than ever before.