A policeman was killed and at least 30 people were wounded yesterday when two car bombs exploded outside the Pakistan-American Cultural Centre in Karachi, Pakistan's biggest city, officials and witnesses said.

The explosions, less than 15 minutes apart, took place about 100 metres from the residence of the US consul and some 200 metres from the US consulate, scene of a car bomb attack by Islamic militants in 2002 that killed 12 Pakistanis.

Information Minister Sheikh Rashid said it was too early to say who was responsible for the bombings. But asked whether Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda militant network could be involved, he said: "It looks like so."

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said it was Washington's initial impression the US consul general's home was not the target but said an investigation was under way.

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