Colombian attorney general says car bomb targeted station

At least 110 pounds (50 kilograms) of explosives were detonated around 5:30 a.m., according to local and international press reports. The explosion caused considerable damage in Caracol Radio's offices, but the station was able to remain on the air. The 12-story building also houses the offices of the Spanish news agency EFE, the Ecuadoran consulate, as well as several banks. EFE's offices were not damaged. The blast shattered windows in more than 20 buildings in the vicinity, the press said.

Bogotá Police Chief Gen. Cesar Pinzon speculated that leftist guerrillas may have been responsible, The Associated Press reported. Pinzon said authorities were not sure who the intended target of the attack was.

"We condemn this attack and are concerned that it may have been a targeted attack on the media," said Carlos Lauría, CPJ's senior program coordinator for the Americas. "We support a full and vigorous government investigation. We are concerned that the media could once again be caught in the middle of the Colombia conflict."

In Colombia's five-decade civil conflict, media facilities have been targeted by bomb attacks several times. The most recent car-bombing against a media outlet was in February 2005, when a car exploded outside the offices of RCN Television and Radio in Cali, the country's third-largest city.