The Colombian army said at least 15 Colombian rebels were killed in combat on Thursday, the worst blow against the country's No. 2 guerrilla group since President Alvaro Uribe came to power on pledges of smashing the insurgency, Reuters reported. The battle between government soldiers and National Liberation Army, known by its Spanish initials ELN, took place near the town of Jamundi in the southwest province of Valle, army Gen. Hernando Perez told reporters. After three years in office, Washington ally Uribe is widely popular in Colombia for going on the attack against insurgents, who the government accuses of being more interested in kidnapping and drug trafficking than defending the poor. The biggest guerrilla group in the country is the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which under Uribe has lost more than 30 fighters in a single day of fighting with the country's military. --SP 2147 Local Time 1847 GMT
