TASHKENT, July 30: Suicide bombers struck the US and Israeli embassies along with Uzbekistan's prosecutor general's office Friday, killing at least two people and injuring five in the latest wave of attacks in the volatile Central Asian state.

"An explosion caused either by a bomb or a suicide bomber at the entrance to the embassy killed two local employees of the embassy," Israel's Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Zwi Cohen, told Israeli public radio.

"Another explosion happened near the American embassy, and a third in a Tashkent metro station," he said. "There were four of us Israeli diplomats in the embassy at the time of the blast and we are all safe and sound.

"All Israelis who are in Tashkent are also safe and sound - we know exactly where they are and have contacted them to tell them to stay at home until further instructions," he added.

A US embassy official told the Interfax news agency that a suicide bomber wearing a belt full of explosive set off the blast outside the embassy. "The blast was set off by a man who wore a suicide belt," the unidentified official told the Interfax news agency.

A witness who lives outside the US embassy said there appeared to be heavy casualties there too. Another blast went off inside the hall of the general prosecutor's office headquarters, according to Svetlana Artikova, the office's spokeswoman.

An AFP reporter saw several people injured and an ambulance rush to the scene, and ITAR-TASS said at least five people were hurt in the blast. An AFP reporter saw the remains of the suicide bomber in a hall of the prosecutor's office building.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks. The Uzbek government has yet to issue an official toll or formal statement on the incidents. A series of terror strikes struck Uzbekistan in March, with at least 47 people killed in attacks sparked by Muslims dissatisfied with the country's leadership.

Uzbekistan, a key US ally in the region, blamed the attacks on Islamic extremists and closed its borders to all but freight, saying the measure was needed to keep more extremists from getting in. Suspicion for those attacks has mainly focused on two groups - the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and the Hezb-ut-Tahrir. -AFP