3 dead, 34 wounded in Karachi bomb blasts
(AP)
Updated: 2006-03-02 14:03

KARACHI, Pakistan - Two car bombs exploded Thursday outside the U.S. consulate and a luxury hotel in Pakistan's largest city, killing three people and wounding 34 just days ahead of a visit to Pakistan by President Bush, police said.

Smoke billows from burning vehicles after a bomb blast in Karachi, Pakistan March 2, 2006. Two blasts in quick succession killed at least three people outside a Marriott hotel in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi on Thursday, police and security officials said. [Reuters]

The bombs ripped through vehicles in the parking lot of the Marriott Hotel in Karachi, about 20 yards from the consulate gate, police official Mushtaq Shah said.

The explosions shattered windows at the consulate, hotel and other nearby buildings and destroyed at least 10 cars, sending flames and clouds of thick black smoke over the scene. The street was strewn with mangled car parts.

Three people were killed, including a paramilitary soldier on security duty, and 34 were injured, said Sanaullah Abbasi, another police official. He said some of the injuries were serious.

None of the hurt were linked to the consulate, said a third police official, Mohammed Arif.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts.

A receptionist at the consulate who did not give his name said the consulate was closed after the attack. He did not know when it would reopen and declined to say whether there had been any injuries inside.

The bombings occurred two days before Bush was to visit the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, for talks on the fight against al-Qaida and loyalists of Afghanistan's former Taliban. Pakistan is a key U.S. ally in the war against terrorism.

Karachi, about 1,000 miles south of Islamabad, is a hotbed for Islamic militants who have targeted the U.S. Consulate several times before. In June 2002, a car bombing outside the building left 14 Pakistanis dead.

Thursday's explosions cut electricity to the hotel, prompting it to move guests to other hotels, said Faisal Ali, who works at the hotel's front desk.