Colombian rebels killed in combat

Seven Colombian soldiers and seven rebels were killed in combat near the Panama border, the army said yesterday.

More than 60 hours of combat in northwest Colombia, during which Marxist guerrillas tried to capture about 200 soldiers, ended when the insurgents were chased away by helicopter gunships.

The army went on alert last week after soldiers seized 70kg of explosives near the capital, Bogota, two days after a key Senate ally of President Alvaro Uribe survived a car bomb.

The spike in violence comes days before the Constitutional Court is expected to decide whether to allow Uribe, popular among most Colombians but detested by the rebels, to run in next May's presidential election.

The constitution bars presidential second terms but Congress approved an amendment last year allowing re-election, which must be approved by the court.