Eight Killed in Colombia Bus Bombings

BOGOTA, Colombia — Firebombs were thrown into three buses Thursday in Colombia’s famous tourist city of Cartagena, burning eight people to death and injuring four, police said.

The local police commander, Col. Hector Dario Castro, told reporters that rebels from the National Liberation Army had been extorting money from the company that owned the three buses.

Castro said police were trying to determine whether the extortion was linked to the attacks.

The attack was the worst in years in the Caribbean port, which is brimming with thousands of tourists for the holidays. One bus was attacked as it passed the colonial part of the city, the most important tourist attraction.

Rebel groups have been fighting a low-level war for three decades. The president has offered to negotiate, but skirmishes continue.