Rebels deny necklace bomb responsibility

The left-wing Colombian rebels accused of killing a woman by placing a bomb around her neck have blamed right-wing paramilitaries for the attack.

A spokesman for the rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, Ivan Rios told the BBC that right-wing paramilitaries attached the bomb to Elvia Cortes to try to discredit FARC.

The bomb was fixed to Mrs Cortes's neck by armed men demanding a ransom.

It exploded as a member of the bomb squad tried to defuse it.

Mrs Cortes and the explosives expert were killed.

Their deaths were filmed by the police and later broadcast on television. The President of Colombia, Andres Pastrana, responded to the killings -- last Monday -- by suspending an international conference that was due to be hosted by FARC later this month.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service