Colombian troops and police yesterday hunted for a state governor kidnapped by gunmen dressed in military uniforms in what authorities said appeared to be a surprise attack carried out by leftist Farc guerrillas.

A rebel kidnapping of a governor from his home underscores how Latin America's oldest guerrilla insurgency is still capable of high-profile operations despite years of being battered by Colombia's US-backed military offensive.

Colombian authorities said the Teofilo Forero unit of the Farc rebel group was likely responsible for the kidnapping, during which one police guard was killed in an assault on the home of Luis Cuellar, the governor of Caqueta province.

The Farc was once a rebel army controlling large parts of Colombia. But the bombings and kidnappings it once carried out have eased as President Alvaro Uribe sent troops to take back areas under control of armed groups who turned to cocaine trafficking to finance their operations.

"This illustrates how narco-terrorists are looking to show their strength and how they want to disturb democracy, but the state is ready to confront them," Defence Minister Gabriel Silva told reporters at a military air base in Bogota.

Men in uniforms and carrying rifles blasted open the door of Cuellar's home before snatching him, Caqueta state governor's secretary Edilberto Ramon Endo told reporters.

The Farc is still holding 24 police and soldiers hostage, some kidnapped more than a decade ago and kept in jungle camps where they are often chained up and forced to keep on the run to evade army patrols and aerial bombardments.

The kidnapping of the governor came just as the guerrilla group announced they plan to soon release two hostages in a handover organized by the Red Cross and the Catholic Church.

Caqueta state in southern Colombia is a remote region where the rebels maintain a strong presence.

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