Bombs hit cinemas in Bangladesh

The cinemas were packed with about 2,000 people

At least 15 people have been killed and more than 200 injured in a series of bomb blasts in a densely populated town in northern Bangladesh.

The explosions took place almost simultaneously at four cinemas in the densely populated town of Mymensingh, 110 kilometres (70 miles) from the capital, Dhaka.

There were bodies lying in blood and many injured crying for help

Jahangir Alam, local journalist

Officials say the death toll is likely to rise.

There was no indication as to who might have been behind the attacks and police said they had no idea as to the motive.

In September, at least two people died and 200 were hurt in bomb blasts at a cinema hall and circus in Satkhira, a district town nearly 180 km (112 miles) south of Dhaka. No one admitted planting those devices.

Successive blasts

Although the devices were crude, this was a well-planned series of attacks which police say was calculated to cause the maximum number of deaths and injuries.

The cinemas were packed with about 2,000 people who had gone to see Bengali films following the Eid al-Fitr holiday - the Muslim festival marking the end of the Ramadan month of fasting.

The first explosion came at the end of a show at the Ajanta theatre and killed two people instantly.

The others came at five-to-10-minute intervals as shows were still going on.

People ran out of the buildings screaming for help.

"I heard a big bang and then saw many people running for shelter," local journalist Jahangir Alam told the Associated Press news agency. "There were bodies lying in blood and many injured crying for help."

Hospital authorities have appealed for blood donations to treat the injured.

Trading accusations

The attacks are strikingly similar to the ones last September, when a crowded cinema hall and circus were hit on a Saturday evening.

Those attacks came amid controversy over claims that the country had become a safe haven for Taleban and al-Qaeda fighters.

Bangladesh: Described as a "hot-bed of terrorism"

The government and the opposition accused each others' supporters of having been behind them.

The opposition Awami League blamed the attack on a hardline Islamic group with links to the government.

Spokesman Saber Hossain Chowdhury said there were "certain elements in Bangladeshi society, it may only be very small elements, who are sympathetic towards the Taleban".

Analysts said the Satkhira blasts, in turn, were very similar to attacks during the last year of the previous Awami League government.

Nearly 100 people were killed in a series of bomb attacks on open-air functions, public meetings and on a mosque and a church.

The then Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, accused radical Muslim groups for the attacks.