Blasts near US Consulate in Peshawar: 2 dead

PESHAWAR: Suspected militants attacked a Pakistani check-post near the US consulate in Peshawar on Monday, a witness and a doctor said.I saw attackers in two vehicles. Some of them carried rocket-propelled grenades. They first opened fire at security personnel at the post near the consulate and then blasts went off,” city resident Siraj Afridi told Reuters.Other residents said an initial blast went off in the neighborhood of the US consulate and they later heard two other blasts and rifle fire in the same area.
The US embassy in Islamabad confirmed the attack.
“We can confirm there has been an attack at the US consulate Peshawar facilities,” US embassy spokeswoman Ariel Howard told AFP.
She was unable to provide any details about the nature of the attack, possible damage or casualties.The causes of the blasts were not immediately clear, said the security official and local residents.Television footage showed a heavy mushroom cloud and smoke rising into the air over the garrison part of the city, close to the US consulate and the Peshawar headquarters of Pakistan's top spy agency in the Saddar area, bombed last November.Bursts of heavy gunfire could also be heard. According to DawnNews, police and army had resorted to firing and the Khyber Road area had been blocked. Several buildings had collapsed due to the intensity of the blasts. Officials said that many casualties were feared and the injured had been rushed to the hospital.