Explosions raise political tensions in Bolivia

LA PAZ, Dec 24 (Reuters) - The leftist government of Bolivian President Evo Morales blamed a dynamite attack at a trade union building on Monday on a "terrorist" group intent on destabilizing the impoverished country.

Attackers threw dynamite at offices of the COB union in the city of La Paz early on Monday, police said. The attack followed several similar incidents elsewhere and comes amid heightened political tension between Morales and his rightist opponents.

No one was hurt in Monday's blast.

Interior Minister Alfredo Rada told a news conference Monday's incident and the other explosions in the eastern opposition stronghold of Santa Cruz showed the "presence of an organization of a terrorist nature".

"This constitutes an attack on democratic Bolivian society," he added.

Two small blasts were reported on Sunday in Santa Cruz, one at the house of a politician and another at a hotel where Morales normally stays when visiting the city.

The COB trade union has recently sided with the government in a bitter dispute over plans led by Morales to reform the constitution, a project that has deepened a conflict with the rightist opposition concentrated in Santa Cruz. (Reporting by Carlos Quiroga; Translated by Helen Popper, Editing by Sandra Maler)