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 BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - Colombia's president accused guerrillas of murdering 11 state lawmakers in cold blood, making a live television broadcast Thursday to dispute a rebel claim that the hostages died in crossfire during a military attack.
President Alvaro Uribe denied a rescue attempt was made for the hostages. He said there were no such military operations in areas where the hostages are thought to have been held on June 18, the date that the FARC rebel movement said the attack occurred.
The news highlighted the precarious state of more than 3,000 people being held by various Colombian armed factions, including three American defense contractors seized four years ago by FARC, the Western Hemisphere's oldest and most potent insurgency.
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