Bangladesh Blast Kills One, Injures 50

DHAKA, Bangladesh – A bomb exploded in the parking lot of a northeastern Bangladesh hotel Saturday after a meeting by the opposition-backed mayor, and the blast killed one person and wounded at least 50 others, witnesses and doctors said.

It was the third bombing in three days in Sylhet (search) city, 120 miles northeast of the capital, Dhaka. On Thursday, blasts outside two movie theaters killed a teenage boy and injured seven other people.

Police suspect Saturday's bomb may have been placed in a jeep. The blast tore off the vehicle's roof.

"We had just come out after the meeting when the blast occurred," Mayor Badaruddin Kamran (search) said.

Some witnesses reported the bomb was thrown from a passing car, Kamran said.

No one claimed responsibility for Saturday's blast, but Kamran said he had received death threats in letters from unknown groups.

"It looks like I was the target. I was lucky to escape," said Kamran, of the opposition Awami League (search) party.

At least 30 people were hospitalized with shrapnel injuries at state-run Osmani Medical College Hospital, where Ibrahim Ali, 45, an opposition supporter, later died of his injuries, doctors said.

Other victims, who mostly were hurt in the melee after the blast, were released after treatment.

"I heard a loud sound and saw sparks of light and smoke. Then I passed out," said Mesbahuddin Siraj, who had a bandaged head.

On Thursday, two near-simultaneous bombings outside city movie theaters killed a 13-year-old boy and injured seven other people. Another unexploded bomb was found in front of a third movie theater.

There have been no claims of responsibility for Thursday's blasts. Police said Friday they were questioning six men, but they did not have a possible motive.

A series of bombings have hit Sylhet since January, including a June 21 blast at an opposition rally, killing one person and wounding at least 60 others.

No one has been charged in the bombings.