Police say gunfire, blasts taking place close to US Consulate in northwest Pakistan

Police: 4 blasts near US Consulate in NW Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Four bombs exploded in quick succession Monday close to the U.S. Consulate in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, police and witnesses said.

Gunfire was also heard close to the heavily guarded and fortified building in Peshawar, police officer Aziz Khan said.

Two of the blasts took place around 20 yards (meters) from the main entrance to the building, an Associated Press reporter close to the scene said. Huge plumes of smoke rose high into the air.

It was unclear if the building itself was damaged. The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said it could not comment.

Al-Qaida and Taliban militants have long vowed to attack the United States, which has fired scores of missiles at them in their northwestern Pakistan strongholds close to the border over the last 1 1/2 years. Washington has also given billions of dollars in aid to the Pakistani army, which is also attacking the insurgents.

Local TV footage showed soldiers taking up defensive positions on the road outside the consulate. One soldier hit the ground in the middle of the road and began firing as a large explosion sent up a plume of gray smoke nearby.

Rescue workers carried at least one wounded man away on a stretcher, his clothing soaked with blood.

The U.S. is only one of three countries to have a diplomatic presence in Peshawar, which has seen repeated militant attacks over the last 18 months. As well as attacking militants and hunting al-Qaida in the northwest, Washington is also funding many development projects in the region aimed at cutting support for the insurgents.

It is unclear how many diplomats work at the consulate in Peshawar.