Blast near Danish Embassy in Pakistan kills 6

At leastsix people died and dozens of others were injuredfollowing a massive explosion near the Danish Embassy in Islamabad that officials suspect was caused by acarbomb.

DanishForeign Minister Per Stig Moeller said the blast in Pakistan's capital killed one embassy worker anda male custodian,and injured three other people.

Speaking toDenmark's TV2 News channel, hesaid the attack is "totally unacceptable."

"It is terrible that terrorists do this. The embassy is there to have a co-operation between the Pakistani population and Denmark, and that means they are destroying that," Moeller said.

Officials at two hospitals reported at leastsix people including two policemen were killed and 35 wounded. None of those killed were foreigners, but a Brazilian woman working at the Danish Embassy suffered injuries.

Policesuspect the blast, around 1 p.m. local time on Monday, was caused by a car bomb. Police officer Muhammad Ashraf said someone parked a car in front of the embassy before a bomb inside the vehicle detonated.

Kamal Shah, a senior Interior Ministry official, said it was not immediately clear whether the explosion was detonated by remote control or a timed bomb, or carried out by a suicide bomber.

Community organization members injured

Theexplosion left a crater nearly a metre deep and caused extensive damage toDenmark's diplomatic office, as well as buildings around it.

Windows at the embassy were shattered and one of itsexternal walls collapsed, whilethe property'smetal gate was blownopen.Footage showed broken glass, collapsed brick anddozens of destroyed vehicles.

Dozens of staff at the neighbouringoffice ofa UN-funded development organization, Devolution Trust for Community Empowerment, were injured by the blast, according tothe group'sfield operations manager. Anjum Masood said most of the injuries were because of flying glass. The building's roof also partially collapsed.

Located nearby, the NorwegianEmbassy was closed after incurring "glass breakage,"a statement from the Foreign Ministry said. The Swedish Embassy has also been shut.

TheU.S. Embassy has told Americans to be extra vigilant if travelling to Islamabad and avoid the explosion site.

There were no Danish officials at the embassy at the time of the attack, the CBC's Stephen Puddicombe reported from Islamabad, as many had moved into a local hotel several weeks ago following the film's release.

While the area where the attack occurredis not part of Islamabad's diplomatic enclave, it is still home to several embassies and heavily fortified with cement blocks and gates.

"So security officials here were quite taken aback by the fact that this bombing happened and they have already admitted they'll have to increase their security to a much greater extent," Puddicombe said.

Pledge to protect

Pakistani Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir said Monday thatPakistan would work to ensure the safety of all foreign diplomatic missions.

"I think the Pakistani nation feels very ashamed today on incidents such as these," he said.

No person or group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Itis the second bombing targeting foreignersinIslamabad in less than three months.

Pakistan has been the site of several large-scaleprotests against cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad that were firstpublished by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in 2005 andreprinted in Danish newspapersin February.

Al-Qaeda deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahrihas called for revenge attacks on Danish targets.

"I urge and incite every Muslim who can harm Denmark to do so in support of the Prophet, God's peace and prayers be upon him, and in defence of his honourable stature," al-Zawahri said in an April 21 video,quotedby IntelCenter, a U.S. group that monitors al-Qaeda messages.

In April, staff members were evacuated from Danish embassiesin Algeria and Afghanistan because of threats related to the Muhammad drawings, while Danish intelligence officials warned of an "aggravated" threat against Denmark in Pakistan, North Africa, the Middle East and Afghanistan because of the cartoons.

In March, dozens of Islamists in Pakistan, as well as in other parts of the Muslim world, protested the releaseof an anti-Islamicfilmposted on the internet by a Dutch politician.