UPDATE 1-Chile LATAM Airlines July passenger traffic up 7.9 pct

(Adds traffic details, cargo)

SANTIAGO Aug 9 (Reuters) - Newly created LATAM Airlines Group said on Thursday its July passenger traffic rose 7.9 percent compared with the same period last year.

LATAM Airlines, Latin America's largest carrier, is the product of Chilean flagship airline LAN's recent takeover of Brazil's TAM.

The group said in a statement that international passenger traffic accounted for around 49 percent of July's total passenger traffic. Traffic during the January-July period rose 6.9 percent from a year earlier.

Domestic passenger traffic in LATAM Airlines' Spanish speaking operations in Chile, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia rose 24.7 percent in July, while domestic passenger traffic in Brazil rose 10.1 percent.

International passenger traffic, which includes international operations of LAN and TAM on regional and long haul routes, rose 2.6 percent in July, while LAN's cargo traffic fell 4.5 percent. (Reporting by Antonio de la Jara; Editing by Gary Hill and Phil Berlowitz)