Uribe came to power on a promise to crush the rebels

Suspected rebels opened fire with machine guns, forcing the president's helicopter to return to a nearby military base.

As the president retreated, a second security aircraft fired into the jungle where the gunmen were hiding, but there was no confirmation that anyone was hit.

Mr Uribe returned later to the village of Granada in Antioquia Province to mark its reconstruction since it was destroyed by rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc).

I was informed while in the helicopter of yet another crazy act by the Farc Colombian President Alvaro Uribe

Twenty-nine people were killed and more than 200 homes destroyed in the December 2000 attack.

Once in Granada, Mr Uribe made light of the incident, saying he was able, for the first time in 24 years of marriage, to exercise his marital authority - by ordering his wife, Lina, off the helicopter, so there would be someone to look after the children if anything happened; the couple have two teenage sons.

"I had to come back to Granada because I couldn't leave the town abandoned to the armed groups," Mr Uribe, wearing a Panama hat and a Colombian poncho, said in his speech.

Target

Mr Uribe's anti-rebel policies, based on bolstering security in towns and villages throughout Colombia, have helped keep his approval rating high at over 60%.

Troops fired into the jungle where rebels were believed to be hiding

But his habit of regularly visiting parts still controlled by rebels, who continue to dominate more than 40% of the country, can be dangerous.

In the case of Granada, officials made Mr Uribe's visit known as early as Thursday, said presidential spokesman Ricardo Galan.

"That was too risky, revealing that information so early," he said.

Mr Uribe came to power last year on a promise to crack down on the guerrilla groups who have waged a left-wing insurgency for nearly 40 years.

He has survived several assassination attempts by Farc and now travels with dozens of bodyguards and sniffer dogs.

During his election campaign in April 2002, three bystanders were killed when a bomb exploded as Mr Uribe's entourage passed by in the coastal city of Barranquilla.

Violence also marred his inauguration just over a year ago, when more than 20 people were killed in mortar attacks.

And the FARC killed the president's father as he resisted kidnap in the early 1980s.