Car Bomb Rattles Bogotá, Colombia; Authorities Suspect Terrorist Attack

August 13, 2010 By Staff

One of the buildings damaged by a car bomb in Bogotá on Thursday morning.

Today in Latin America

Top Story — A car bomb exploded outside a prominent radio station early Thursday morning in Bogotá, Colombia, in what authorities suspect was a terrorist attack.

No one was killed in the bombing, but at least nine people were injured and several buildings were damaged along the capital’s 7th avenue, a main thoroughfare.

“This is a terrorist attack” said President Juan Manuel Santos, according to a report by Reuters, though it was not clear who had planned the bombing or why.

Police have located the owner of the exploded car, but did not reveal the person’s identity, The Miami Herald reports.

Bombings were once a common occurrence in Bogotá, the capital of a country that has been locked in a state of perpetual, low-grade civil war for roughly half a century. In recent years, however, bombings have become infrequent, due largely to a major military offensive against leftist guerrillas launched in 2002 by then-President Álvaro Uribe.

The attack occurred less than a week after President Santos’ inauguration. Santos has pledged to continue Uribe’s security policies, but has also alluded to the possibility of opening a dialogue with insurgents.

Images of the bombings were captured by a security camera and can be viewed in the video below.

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Image: Globovisión @ Flickr.

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