Bomb in Colombian government building hurts two

Bogota, June 6: A letter bomb slightly injured two Colombian government officials in the second package to explode at a state building in Bogota in the last two days, authorities said.

Police said the device exploded in the office of the Superintendency for Economic Solidarity, wounding one of the directors and an employee yesterday, who became suspicious of the package just before it detonated.

Colombia's Deputy Education Minister Gabriel Burgos was wounded in his face and hands on Monday when a package exploded inside his office. No group has claimed responsibility.

''This has the same characteristics as yesterday,'' Bogota police commander Col Rodolfo Palomino told reporters. ''They noticed something strange about the package, stepped away and moments later it exploded.'' Bombs in the Colombian capital are rare since President Alvaro Uribe began his US-financed crackdown on the country's armed groups. The FARC, the country largest rebel group, has been driven back to the jungles but is still fighting.

Reuters>