Explosions rock Bogota during Uribe inauguration

BOGOTA, Colombia -- Explosions rocked Colombia's capital and the area around Parliament Wednesday as Alvaro Uribe entered the building to be sworn in as president of Colombia Wednesday. At least 12 people were killed in the blasts, witnesses said.

Three blasts hit within blocks of the Parliament building as Senate leader Luis Alfredo Ramos prepared to give the oath of office to Uribe, who has vowed to wipe out rebels who have been fighting Colombian governments for 38 years.

At least one other explosion also went off adjacent to the nearby presidential palace, wounding a policeman, who staggered bloodied from the scene. The blast chipped the stone wall of the palace and blew out windows.

Government warplanes were seen streaking above the capital after the blasts.

Witness reported seeing 10 dead bodies in the street and in a demolished shack in the poor Cartucho neighborhood, five blocks away. The attorney general's office also said at least two other people died in the closer explosion.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts nor was it clear what had caused them.

Concerned about a rebel assassination attempt, Uribe had forgone the traditional outdoor ceremony in Bogota's colonial central plaza and moved the swearing in to the parliament building.

Army troops quickly sealed off the Cartucho neighborhood after the explosions. The government has been tearing down shanties in Cartucho in recent months as part of an urban renewal program, and resentment against authorities has been running high. Some residents threw rocks at the soldiers, while others wept.

Tight security

Troops had patrolled the streets and combat helicopters thundered overhead during the inauguration.

Hours earlier, small bombs exploded in several neighborhoods of the capital, slightly injuring six people and blowing out windows and chunks of sidewalk. No one immediately claimed responsibility.

Amid unconfirmed police reports that rebels had planned to crash a plane into parliament, Bogota's airspace was closed and an American P3 plane staffed with U.S. Customs Service and Colombian air force personnel patrolled overhead.

The White House had no immediate comment on the explosions in Cartucho.

Uribe inherits a 38-year-old war that kills some 3,500 people every year. His father was shot to death during an apparent rebel kidnapping attempt in 1983. Uribe has been the target of several assassination attempts, including a deadly attack on his motorcade during the election campaign.

He faces a country in economic turmoil. About 64 percent of Colombians live below the poverty line and more than 17 percent of city dwellers can't find jobs.

Right after being sworn in, Uribe planned to propose a referendum to almost halve the number of lawmakers and merge Parliament's two houses.