WORLD : Colombia Paper Bombed; 4 Die
Suspected drug traffickers set off a car bomb outside a pro-government provincial newspaper today, killing four people and wounding seven in an attack termed the worst ever against the Colombian press.
The bomb, made from 110 pounds of dynamite, exploded shortly after dawn outside the main entrance of the daily Vanguardia Liberal in the provincial capital of Bucaramanga, 190 miles north of Bogota, police said.
The dead all worked for the paper. Four of the seven wounded were also newspaper employees.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The newspaper’s director, Alejandro Galvis, said the daily had received anonymous telephone threats from alleged left-wing guerrillas and drug traffickers.
The blast caused structural damage to the newspaper building and to its machinery, damaged about 15 neighboring residences and shattered windows in a 10-block area. Initial estimates said damage could reach $500,000.
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