Colombian rebel leader killed

Colombians rejoiced at the killing of top FARC rebel leader Alfonso Cano and hoped the biggest blow yet against Latin America's longest insurgency could herald an end to nearly five decades of war.

In a triumph for President Juan Manuel Santos' government, forces bombed a FARC jungle hideout in southwestern Cauca region on Friday, killing several rebels, officials said.

Troops then rappelled down from helicopters to search the area, killing the Marxist rebel boss in a gun battle.

Pictures of his dead body - with his trademark beard shaven off - were broadcast on television. Six laptop computers were found along with 39 memory sticks, cellular phones and cash in pesos, dollars and euros, Pinzon said.

The death of the former student activist, who had a $3.7 million bounty on his head, is unlikely to spell a quick end to a war that has killed tens of thousands in the Andean nation.

But it will further damage the drug trade-funded rebels' ability to coordinate high profile bombings, ambushes and kidnappings that have brought it worldwide notoriety.

"It is the most devastating blow that this group has suffered in its history," Santos said in a brief televised address to the nation.

"I want to send a message to each and every member of that organization: 'demobilize' ... or otherwise you will end up in a prison or in a tomb. We will achieve peace."

Overnight, some Colombians spilled into the street, dancing and chanting with joy: "Cano is dead!"

In the morning, at a small coffee stand on a quiet street in Bogota, Colombians considered the death of one of the most hated men in their country.

"This is brilliant news, it's just one more of those delinquents dead and a step closer to peace," said Horacio Londono, 53, as he bought cigarettes before heading to work.

Even prior to its decapitation, the FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, had been battered by a U.S.-backed military campaign that began in 2002.

The waning insurgency has lost several other key commanders in the past four years. Reuters