At least two people were killed and more than a dozen others injured Sunday in three near simultaneous explosions across Nepal's capital Kathmandu.
KATHMANDU: At least two people were killed and more than a dozen others injured Sunday in three near simultaneous explosions across Nepal's capital Kathmandu, police said.
Hundreds of extra police fanned out across the city following the blasts, which struck commuters aboard a minibus, a bus stop in the busy city centre and a university campus.
The former Maoist rebels quickly denied any involvement in the explosions, which left 15 people wounded, three of them critically.
"This is a terrible tragedy and a shameful act," home ministry spokesman Baman Prasad Neupane told.
"Police are investigating the incident but so far no one has claimed responsibility. It's too early to say who might be behind the explosions," Neupane said.
One bomb ripped apart a small bus used to ferry passengers on the city's ring road. Body parts were strewn across the pavement, and emergency workers hurried to clean up the debris.
Police said at least 14 passengers were injured.
Another bomb blew up outside a university campus in Kathmandu, and a third exploded at a bus stop.
Police originally said five bombs had exploded, but later revised the total to three.
"High explosive devices were used. We've just begun our investigations and we have no idea who may have done this," said another deputy superintendent, Sudip Giri.
The last reported bomb attack in Kathmandu was at a police post in April 2006, just before the Maoists entered a landmark peace deal with the government after a decade of war against the monarchy.
The former rebels denied any responsibility for Sunday's blasts, and said they were likely aimed at derailing crucial elections planned for November.
"Our party is not involved in these heinous explosions," Ananta, a deputy commander in the People's Liberation Army, told.
"We think that it could be a conspiracy of those who want to stop the elections."
Nepal is due to go to the polls to vote for a body that will rewrite the poor Himalayan country's constitution, and decide the fate of the monarchy.
Political parties formed a new government in April 2006 after King Gyanendra ended 14 months of direct rule following massive public protests.
The rebels and the new government reached a pact in November that paved the way for the Maoists to join parliament early this year.
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