A suspected bomb attack on a shopping mall in the heart of the capital Dhaka Saturday left at least 35 people injured, many of them critically, police and hospital sources said. The bomb prompted a fire which burnt and destroyed more than scores of boutiques, footwear shops and fast food outlets in the city's Elephant Road business district. Witnesses said the blaze was preceded by a loud explosion which rocked the district and shattered the windows of buildings in the neighbourhood. The blast prompted panic among the shoppers and pedestrians in the late afternoon rush hour, witnesses said. Firefighters and police officials suspect the blast was caused by a home-made bomb planted at the scene, but investigators did not rule out that the fire was caused by exploding gas cylinders in old air conditioners. Heavily armed police squads cordoned off the area and stopped road traffic in the district after the blast.
