Columbian rebels concerned with terrorist associations.(The Dallas Morning News)

BOGOTA, Colombia _ The rebels kidnapped and killed Americans, bombed churches and schools, reaped millions of dollars in income from drug traffickers and threatened to overthrow the democratically elected government by force.

Before Sept. 11, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia was able to call such actions a legitimate form of rebellion and continue to draw upon a network of international support across Latin America and Europe. But the group, known by its Spanish acronym of FARC, is paying a steep price today for actions that have won it a place on the U.S. list of international terrorist groups.

Nearly four months after the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, FARC commanders are expressing open concern that they are being associated increasingly with the likes of Osama bin Laden, the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11 events.

The rebels find themselves isolated internationally, with some sources of funding and diplomatic support cut off, and the potential that they could be hunted by the U.S. military in the same way bin Laden is being pursued today.

"The guerrillas have many reasons to be worried," said Leon Valencia, a peace activist and a former field commander of a smaller rebel group, the National Liberation Army. "The FARC knows that the United States and the international community have their eyes on them. They have to be very careful."