A bomb blast wounded at least 30 people outside a hotel in the northeastern Bangladeshi town of Sylhet on Saturday, police said. The explosion occurred two days after blasts outside two cinemas in the town, 300 km (190 miles) from Dhaka, killed one man and wounded 15. A leader of the main opposition Awami League party, Mesbahuddin Siraj, was among those hurt in Saturday's blast in a car park outside the hotel, witnesses said. Police said the bomb was packed with shards of metal. They did not immediately know who was behind the attack or what the motive was. Some 25 people were taken to hospital, doctors said. Hundreds of opposition activists staged a noisy protest, demanding those responsible be punished. Party officials said they believed the attack was intended to kill the Mayor of Sylhet, Badruddin Ahmed Kamran, who is also the local chief of the Awami League, headed by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Kamran went to the hotel in the evening to meet friends and drove off only few minutes before the blast, they said. --More 2328 Local Time 2028 GMT
