US closes Peshawar consulate: Terror threat

PESHAWAR: A bomb blast killed at least one man and wounded 15 others in Peshawar on Tuesday hours after the United States said it had temporarily closed its consulate here after receiving a threat.

The blast was caused by explosives planted on a motorcycle parked in a crowded bazaar in the city centre, according to the city's Senior Superintendent of Police Operations, Saeed Wazir.

Earlier on Tuesday, a spokeswoman at the U.S. embassy in Islamabad said its consulate in Peshawar had been temporarily closed after receiving a threat.

''They received a specific and credible threat,'' spokeswoman Nida Emmons said, without elaborating.

 Emmons said the consulate had been closed ''until further notice'', while U S and Pakistani authorities coordinated on security measures.

''They may have received bomb threats, but the threat was not so great for them to take such a drastic step,'' said Malik Zafar Azam, a Law Minister in the Islamist-led provincial government.