QUITO (Reuters) - The detonation of explosive devices on two bridges in Ecuador early on Wednesday was retaliation for a major military operation against illegal miners, the country's interior minister said.

Interior Minister John Reimberg indicated that authorities suspected the criminal group Los Lobos, recently designated a terrorist organization by Washington, was responsible.

"The line we are pursuing is one of retaliation for what we have been doing in Imbabura (province), in terms of controlling the strike and cracking down on illegal mining," Reimberg told a press briefing in the northern city of Otavalo.

No injuries were reported and no arrests have been made. Infrastructure Minister Roberto Luque suggested the attacks were intended to disrupt traffic.

One explosion damaged the base of a bridge in the province of Guayas, while another device only partially detonated in the province of Azuay.

The bridge explosions occurred just hours after a car bomb went off outside a shopping mall in Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city, late on Tuesday, leaving one dead and several injured. A second vehicle containing explosives was found nearby but was deactivated.

Ecuador's military and air force on Monday destroyed several illegal mine entrances, which the army said were operated by organized crime groups seeking to protect a key income source.

Seven people were arrested in the military operation. Reimberg said some of those arrested belonged to the dissident Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) group.

DIESEL SUBSIDIES PROTESTS

Indigenous communities in Otavalo, Imbabura province, said on Wednesday they were withdrawing to their territories and ending a prolonged protest over diesel subsidies after reaching an agreement with the government to begin technical meetings to discuss their demands.

Otavalo has been a focal point for demonstrations organized by CONAIE, Ecuador's largest Indigenous organization, since late September, following President Daniel Noboa's decision to end diesel subsidies.

Noboa has defended the subsidy cuts, arguing that state-funded diesel was being diverted to illegal mining and smuggling.

Local Indigenous leaders reported one death in a hospital after clashes with security forces on Tuesday in Otavalo and said another protester died in the area last month.

Indigenous groups also reported at least 50 injuries, while the government said 13 military officers were hurt in the clashes.

Last week, Noboa's convoy was attacked in a rural town, with rocks thrown at his car.

The president, speaking in Guayaquil on Wednesday, asserted that criminal groups were attempting to destabilize the government and prevent it from addressing Ecuadoreans' needs.

(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia, Writing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez and Natalia Siniawski; Editing by Brendan O'Boyle, Sarah Morland, Nia Williams and Michael Perry)