At least six people were killed and 15 others injured Tuesday morning in car bomb blasts in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi, according to local TV reports.

Sindh Governor Dr Ishrat-Ul-Ebad Khan condemned the bombing and directed police in the province to be alert.

A bomb-planted car exploded at about 8:45 AM local time (03:45 GMT) Tuesday outside the KFC outlet in downtown Karachi, gutting the restaurant and shattering the windows of a nearby six-storey office block housing several oil and gas exploration firms. 

Police said the bomb caused casualties in and outside the office block. It was not clear if KFC was open at the time of the blast.

Some banks on the ground floor of the office building also felt the force of the blast, which blew other cars on the road to pieces. Tenants of the building include Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (PPL).

Several cars were also damaged and widows of the nearby building shattered.

Two five-star hotels are located close to the bomb blast site.

Another KFC restaurant and a McDonald's outlet came under attack in September in Karachi. Two bombs exploded within minutes of each other at the two fast-food franchises, injuring at least two people, police said.

The Karachi police chief Mushtaq Shah said that investigation into the blast has started. Police have sealed the blast site.

Ambulances rushed to the site to take the injured to hospitals.

(Xinhua News Agency Chindaily.com via agencies November 15, 2005)