COLOMBIAN DRUG WAR CLASHES HEAT UP

BOGOTA -- Fierce jungle fighting in Colombia's main coca growing
region killed 30 soldiers and 26 leftist guerrillas on Friday, the
army said - the heaviest casualties since a U.S.-backed
anti-narcotics offensive got underway late last year.

The battle broke out at an army base near the riverside town of
Puerto Leguizamo, 320 miles south of Bogota in southern Putumayo
state, a launching point for Colombian marine operations against
rebels and drug traffickers.

The army said it sent in reinforcements and was pursuing retreating
guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.
Only six guerrilla bodies had been recovered, but army Gen. Nestor
Ramirez put the number of dead ``narco-terrorists'' at 26.

He said the soldiers were out on anti-narcotics operations when they
came into contact with the FARC rebels.

The heavy troop losses were a new setback for Colombia's U.S.-backed
military, which has struggled to regain the upper hand against rebels
growing mightier with profits from ties to the drug trade. The
bloodshed also contrasted with recent breakthroughs in peace talks to
end Colombia's 37-year conflict.