UZBEKISTAN Bombers hit U.S., Israeli embassies

There was also a blast at the general prosecutor's office.
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (AP) -- Suicide bombers hit the U.S. and Israeli embassies today, killing at least two Uzbeks, news reports and police said.
A third blast hit the general prosecutor's office and caused "deaths," a Russian news agency reported. A spokeswoman confirmed the blast.
The Interfax news agency said a man with an explosive belt on his waist detonated a bomb outside the American Embassy, and Uzbek security forces surrounded the compound, stopping all traffic. Israel radio said that the attack on the Israeli Embassy also was a suicide assault and that one of the dead there was an Uzbek security guard.
The radio said all the Israeli personnel were safe inside the embassy building, while Uzbek security forces conducted searches in the area.
The explosion occurred on the pavement at the entrance to the embassy, the radio said.
Israeli Ambassador Tzvi Cohen also said no Israelis were hurt.
"An explosive device exploded at the entrance to the embassy in Tashkent but it's still not clear if it was an explosive device or a suicide bomber," Cohen told Israel Radio from the embassy.
Background
Uzbekistan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia, borders Afghanistan and allowed the United States to base soldiers and equipment there for the war that ousted the Taliban regime. Moscow still considers its former republics in the region to be its area of influence.
Uzbek leader Islam Karimov runs a strict regime that has sought to wipe out Islamic extremism. He allows no opposition to his rule, which dates to Soviet times.
Debris littered the area outside the Israeli Embassy and soldiers in helmets and with automatic weapons blocked off the street.
The embassy is surrounded by a high stone security wall and the building did not appear to be damaged.
A man who said he arrived at the scene before police, Konstantin Ivanov, said he saw four severed hands lying in the street.
There is a significant Jewish population in Uzbekistan.
A spokeswoman for the general prosecutor's office, Svetlana Artikova, said there also was a blast at that building, but she had no information on casualties.
The Interfax news agency reported there were deaths in the explosion, citing an unnamed source at the office.