BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) -- Authorities seized a cache of bomb-making
                  equipment in a raid on a Bogota university on Friday following the death of a
                  policeman in an anti-American riot allegedly led by student extremists inspired by
                  Peru's Shining Path rebels.

                  More than 250 heavily-armed police and government investigators stormed the
                  campus of the National University in central Bogota before dawn.

                  National Police Chief Gen. Luis Ernesto Gilibert said the agents confiscated 300
                  home-made explosives, 15 pounds (7 kg) of gunpowder and chemicals used for
                  making bombs, 20 gallons of gasoline destined for molotov cocktails and
                  "subversive" propaganda.

                  The bust came after hooded students fought running battles with riot police Wednesday during
                  a protest at the day-long visit to Colombia by U.S. President Bill Clinton.

                  Police officer Mauricio Soto, 21, was killed in the clashes after a demonstrator lobbed an explosive
                  charge, made of gunpowder and ball-bearings packed into a beer can, at his head.

                  "Investigations (into Soto's death) at this stage point to leftist militia units particularly the 'Red
                  Guard'," police spokesman Carlos Perdomo said during a news conference at police headquarters
                  in Bogota.

                  "(Friday's operation) leads us to believe that guerrilla groups are increasing infiltrating
                  Colombia's universities and are stepping up their bomb-making techniques," he added.

                  The "Red Guard" is the name of a shadowy group of student agitators set up at the National
                  University and inspired by Peruvian Shining Path guerrillas and their Maoist
                  ideology.

                  The group does not, however, carry out guerrilla actions outside the university.

                  Gilibert said U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and FBI officials had
                  offered to help analyze television images of Wednesday's student demonstration
                  in a bid to catch Soto's killer.

                  Soto's death caused widespread outrage in Bogota. City Hall have offered a
                  $25,000 reward for evidence leading to the arrest of the culprit and a steady
                  stream of students placed roses in the railings at the main gate of the university
                  Thursday and Friday as a mark of respect for the policeman.

                  Police also said they found evidence that students allied to Colombia's two main
                  Marxist rebel groups, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and
                  the National Liberation Army (ELN), helped orchestrate Wednesday's riots.

                  The National University is Colombia's largest university and has become as
                  famous for its militant students and frequent riots as for its prestigious academic
                  record.

                  Wednesday's riot at the university was just one of a handful of demonstrations
                  around the country led by unions and student groups to protest Clinton's visit
                  and a recently approved $1.3 billion U.S. aid package which they fear will stoke
                  the long-running guerrilla war.

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