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    14 April 2012| last updated at 12:07PM

    4 explosions in Colombia ahead of summit



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    BOGOTA: Four explosive devices went off in Colombia late Friday ahead of an Americas summit, without causing any casualties or damage to buildings, police said.

    The first two crude low-power bombs exploded near the US Embassy in Bogota  shortly after the arrival in Colombia of US President Barack Obama, who is due  to take part in the summit in the resort city of Cartagena.

    “Nobody was killed, nobody was injured, and there was no damage,” a police  official told AFP on condition of anonymity, and without revealing if there  were any suspects.

    That incident occurred around 7:30 pm local time (0030 GMT Saturday),  prompting police units to swarm into the area and begin an investigation.

    These explosions were followed by two similar ones in Cartagena, which is  hosting the summit.

    “They occurred near a bus terminal and near a supermarket,” General Rodolfo  Palomino of the Colombian police told reporters. “There were no injuries and no  damage.”    In addition to the US Embassy, the area in Bogota where the devices  exploded is home to some important Colombian government buildings.

    The prosecutor general’s office is located nearby as well as the so-called  National Administrative Center, which houses several government ministries.

    The Colombian capital and other major cities have been a favored site of  urban guerrilla attacks for decades.

    The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has been at war with the  Colombian government since 1964 and is believed to have 9,000 fighters in  mountainous and jungle areas, according to government estimates.

    In late March, Colombian troops killed at least 36 suspected FARC rebels  and captured four in an army offensive in Meta department, according to  officials.

    The hostilities between the government and leftist rebels have continued  despite solid gestures toward peace, including the recent release by the FARC  of the last 10 soldiers and police held captive in the Colombian jungle. - AFP

    Members of the Technical Investigation Corps (CTI) of the Colombian Attorney investigate the area where unknown assailants activated an explosive device near the US Embassy in Bogota, Colombia on April 13, 2012. Leaders of the 33 member states of the Organization of American States (OAS) will attend the VI Summit of the Americas to take place April 14 and 15 in Cartagena, Colombia. Summit talks will include the scourge of drugs, the return of Cuba to the OAS, the Falklands-Malvinas issue and regional integration. Photo by AFP.

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