'Bomb blast near Pakistani consulate in Herat'

A small bomb exploded on Thursday near Pakistan's consulate in Afghanistan's western city of Herat, injuring a policeman and a woman.

A small bomb exploded on Thursday near Pakistan's consulate in Afghanistan's western city of Herat, injuring a policeman and a woman, police said.

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The bomb, attached to a bicycle, appeared to have been detonated remotely, deputy city police chief Ghulam Sarwar Haidary told AFP.

"A bomb placed on a bicycle exploded near the Pakistan consulate. One policeman, guarding the consulate, and a woman passer-by were wounded," the official said.

The bomb caused little damage, blowing out some windows nearby.

It was not known who was behind the blast and there was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Taliban insurgents involved in a growing campaign of violence in Afghanistan have in the past been blamed for similar incidents.

Anti-Pakistan sentiment is meanwhile high in Afghanistan as officials say elements in that country, including its government, are fomenting spiralling unrest.

President Hamid Karzai blamed a July 7 suicide attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul on the intelligence agency of Pakistan, a long-time rival of India.

The attack was the deadliest of its kind in Kabul and killed around 60 people, including two senior Indian diplomats.

Islamabad rejected allegations that its intelligence arm was involved.