By Agencies

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A bomb attack in a commercial district of Colombia's capital, Bogota, has killed two people and injured a former interior minister who was the target, according to President Juan Manuel Santos.

Local media initially reported that Tuesday's explosion occurred on a bus.

"We condemn this attack ... this government will not be put off course by these terrorist attacks," Santos said. "This was an attack against former minister Fernando Londono."

Alessandro Rampietti, reporting from Bogota, said the bomb exploded in one of the most imported thoroughfares connecting the city with Colombia's north.

"Londono was being driven by his driver, who died in the attack. He is said to be in stable condition," Rampietti said.

The Colombian government has been battling the leftist FARC, or the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, for five decades but the guerrilla group has lost strength in recent years and they rarely carry out attacks in Bogota.

Although substantially weakened by a US-funded military crackdown, FARC remains a force to be reckoned with.

The fighters stage attacks against police and military installations, set off car bombs in areas already ravaged by drug violence and cause mayhem in other regions.