BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) --Colombian military officials said they had dealt a major blow
to the nation's rebels by killing a guerrilla commander accused of kidnapping three U.S.
military contractors and carrying out a string of assassinations and bombings.

Edgar Gustavo Navarro, the No. 2 leader of an elite unit of the Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, was killed during a gunfight Sunday
along with 10 other rebels, Army Gen. Hector Martinez said.

"It is a major blow for this terrorist group," Martinez said Monday on local
radio. He said Navarro died during clashes near San Vicente del Caguan, 175
miles southwest of the capital, Bogota.

Martinez said Navarro was behind the capture of three Americans _ Tom
Howes, Marc Gonsalves and Keith Stansell -- after their single-engine plane
crash-landed in FARC-controlled territory on February 13 while on a
counternarcotics mission.

The rebels allegedly executed a fourth American, Tom Janis, and a Colombian
soldier, Sgt. Luis Alcides Cruz, who also were on board.

The commander of Colombia's armed forces, Gen. Jorge Enrique Mora, said
there was no indication the rebel leader was killed near where the hostages are
being held, or that their lives had been endangered.

Mora, speaking to reporters while on a visit to Washington, also dismissed a
recent taped interview in which the three captives said they didn't want the army
to launch a rescue operation because they would likely die in the process.

"It must be kept in mind that the hostages were speaking under pressure," he
said. "In Colombia, many, many hostages have been rescued" by security
forces.

It was doubtful Navarro's death would affect the hostages, who are being
guarded by hundreds of rebels under the authority of the FARC's high
command.

But his death was seen as a victory for President Alvaro Uribe, who pledged an
all-out war on rebels upon taking office little over a year ago.

The FARC considers the three Americans to be prisoners of war and wants to
exchange them for imprisoned rebels. Washington is offering a reward of up to
$5 million for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those involved
in the murder of Janis and the kidnapping.

Gen. Martinez said Sunday's killing underscored the army's growing ability to
hunt down guerrillas deep in their jungle strongholds.

Defense Minister Martha Lucia Ramirez told reporters that "Navarro
participated in many major attacks that greatly affected our country."

Navarro is accused of being behind a car bombing that killed 12 people, the
assassination of an army general and the kidnapping of at least half a dozen
politicians, including that of former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt,
who holds dual Colombian and French citizenship.

Navarro also planned the hijacking of a domestic airliner in February 2002 and
the kidnapping a prominent senator who was on board -- an attack that led
former President Andres Pastrana to cancel two years of fruitless peace talks
with the FARC, authorities said.

The FARC and a smaller leftist rebel army have been waging war on the
Colombian government for nearly 40 years. About 3,500 people, mainly
civilians, die in the fighting each year.

Copyright 2003 The Associated Press.