Car bomb rocks Bogota suburb

A pick-up truck packed with explosives was blown up in the Normandia residential area in the west of the city during lunchtime, shattering windows in nearby apartment blocks.

Many of the injured - mainly shoppers and employees of nearby stores - were hit by flying glass but the bombers' apparent target, a small police station, escaped virtually unscathed

The authorities have blamed the blast on leftist rebels who have stepped up attacks in Bogota since the inauguration of President Alvaro Uribe in August.

The commander of the Bogota Police Department, General Hector Daniel Castro, said the bombing was the work of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Police stopped traffic in the area after the blast which left a crater two metres (six feet) wide in the asphalt.

A few of the injured were in a serious condition but most were classified as "lightly wounded" by the police.

Initial estimates of the amount of explosives used in the bomb varied from 50 kilograms (110 pounds) to 70 kg.

One police source said anfo - an explosive more powerful than dynamite - appeared to have been used.

The police station at the scene withstood the explosion, with a single, bullet-proof window blown in.

Recent attacks in Bogota include:

• A mortar attack during Mr Uribe's actual inauguration on 7 August which left 17 dead and at least 50 injured.

• A car bomb attack on police headquarters on 22 October which killed two and wounded 36.

• A grenade attack on the US Embassy in Bogota and the Prosecutor's Office in November in which two people were wounded.