5 Laotians injured in Vientiane post office blast

BANGKOK, July 31 Kyodo

At least five Laotians were injured in an explosion at the Vientiane central post office Monday, Laotian police said.

The bomb, hidden in a stack of mail, exploded sometime between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m., police said.

A witness said the explosion killed a female official who was packing mail. But police contacted in Vientiane by Kyodo News said there were no fatalities.

No one claimed responsibility for the explosion, which police said they are investigating.

Security in Laos has been tightened following a series of explosions that started rocking Vientiane in April. The government has blamed unspecified ''bad elements'' for the explosions.

The explosions mostly took place at public places, including a restaurant, bus station and market.

Lao authorities found one explosive device Sunday around 11 a.m. in a rest room at a passenger terminal at Vientiane airport.

A suspect was being detained, a spokesman of the Lao Foreign Ministry said.

Also Sunday, a massage faxed to state-run hotels in Vientiane, allegedly from an organization called Federation for Democratic Movements in Laos, threatened several public places, including hotels, banks and state-run enterprises as bomb targets, a hotel official said.

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