Military spokesman: 'An ambush took place'
 
                  BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) -- Leftist rebels kidnapped 15 people and
                  then killed six policemen and a soldier who tried to rescue them, the
                  police said on Tuesday.

                  The civilians were kidnapped at a roadblock in Caldas province in rural northwest Colombia on
                  Monday. The military eventually freed the civilians during a rescue attempt later the same day,
                  but they failed to capture or kill any of the Marxist guerrillas, a police commander said.

                  "The police immediately started pursuing the criminals. Unfortunately, in a forested area, an
                  ambush took place, resulting in the deaths of a lieutenant, five other police officers and a
                  soldier," Col. Rodolfo Palomino told Reuters.

                  The guerrillas were from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a 17,000-strong group
                  known by the Spanish initials FARC, he said.

                  The FARC and other rebels kidnap thousands of people a year to help pay for their 39-year-old
                  war for a socialist state.