WORLD : 13 Blasts in 3 Colombian Cities

BOGOTA, Colombia —  Police reported 13 explosions in three cities before dawn today, the biggest wave of bombings in the government’s war on cocaine barons.

The bombings coincided with a visit by U.S. Gen. Maxwell Thurman to confer with President Virgilio Barco Vargas, who launched the crackdown Aug. 19. Thurman heads the U.S. Southern Command, based in Panama.

Nineteen people were injured by the explosions in Bogota, Barranquilla and Pereira, police said. No one claimed responsibility, but authorities assume the scores of bombs set off since August were planted by the drug gangs. There were no indications whether the bombings were connected with Thurman’s visit.