Bogota, Aug 4 (EFE) At least 17 rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) were killed when the security forces bombed one of their hideouts in the country's central Meta province, officials said.

There were 200 FARC guerrillas at the camp when the attack took place, a defence ministry spokesman said Monday, without elaborating on the fate of the other rebels.

Media reports said the security forces have launched a major operation against the rebels, mainly to capture FARC's 27th Front commander Efren Arboleda.

The operation was hampered due to the bad weather, reports said.

In a separate development, the army and the air force have launched an operation against the rebels in southern Caqueta province. The main target is the chief of FARC's 49th Front, Wilson Pena Maje.

Gen. Javier Florez, commander of the Joint Task Force Omega, said his soldiers have killed at least 40 militants in clashes in eastern Colombia in recent weeks.

FARC, the country's largest leftist group, has fought with successive Colombian governments since mid-1960s. The group is thought to have around 9,000 fighters.