5 DIE, 27 HURT IN BOMBING AT HOTEL

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA -- A car bomb exploded in front of a hotel in
southern coca-growing region, killing five people and injuring 27,
authorities said Saturday.

It appears the bomb's intended target was a military patrol; two of
the injured were soldiers.

The blast, in the town of La Hormiga 580 kilometers south of Bogota,
occurred Friday morning and severely damaged the hotel as well as
businesses and some homes.

La Hormiga is key center of the cocaine trade, where coca farmers sell
their product to drug-trafficking's middlemen.

Gov. Alvaro Salas of Narino state said it was not clear who was
responsible for the attack.

The army blamed it on leftist rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces
of Colombia, or FARC, the country's oldest and largest rebel band.

The FARC mounted an offensive a week ago in which it attacked more
than a dozen rural towns.