By MICHAEL EASTERBROOK, Associated Press Writer
BOGOTA, Colombia - Hundreds of Colombian soldiers and U.S.-donated Black Hawk helicopters scoured rebel territory Saturday for three Americans kidnapped by a rebel group after their plane crashed in the region while on an intelligence mission, the army said.
Rebels shot and killed a fourth American and a Colombian army sergeant who also were on the plane, the country's top military commander, Gen. Jorge Mora said. The names of the Americans have not been released, and a U.S. Embassy official declined to comment Saturday on the search.
The United States was lending logistics and intelligence support to the search effort, but not soldiers, Ospina said. U.S. Army special forces currently are training Colombian troops in eastern Arauca province.
In recent days, Colombia has been shaken by some of its worst violence in recent memory. On Feb. 7, suspected FARC fighters detonated a bomb inside a prestigious social club in Bogota, killing 35 people and injuring more than 100 others.
Early Friday, 18 others were killed when a bomb exploded inside a house located under the flight path of planes landing at the airport in Neiva, about 250 miles south of Bogota.
FARC fighters had planted the explosives in the house and were planning to blow President Alvaro Uribe's airplane out of the sky when it landed at the airport for a scheduled visit, authorities said.
