An injured diplomat shouts for help in an Islamabad hospital after the bomb blast. (AFP)

Islamabad, March 15 (Agencies): A Turkish woman was killed and US embassy staff were among those wounded in a bomb attack on a restaurant frequented by foreigners in Islamabad tonight, police said.

Police deputy inspector general Shahid Nadeem Baloch said the Turkish woman worked at a relief agency. Doctors at the hospital where she was taken gave conflicting accounts, identifying her as an American nurse working at the US embassy. “US embassy staff were among those wounded,” an embassy spokeswoman Kay Mayfield said, but she could not confirm any death.

A witness said the explosion occurred in a garden dining area at the rear of the Luna Caprese restaurant, which is frequented by expatriates, including diplomats, aid agency workers, and journalists.

“It was deafening. We pulled out at least eight people from the wreckage. Most of them were foreigners,” Tariq Mahmood, a waiter at the restaurant, said. Baloch said the bomb blast had left a crater and ruled out any possibility that it had been a suicide attack. Abdul Hakeem, a passerby, said he helped bring out around a dozen wounded.

Television channels reported that at least two persons were feared dead and several of the wounded were in a critical condition. Among those injured were three US citizens, two Japanese journalists, three Pakistanis and one Chinese, Baloch said.

The place is frequented by foreigners and diplomats. Several US embassy cars were parked outside the eatery at the time of the blast which could be heard from several kilometres away.

The incident created panic in the city and police immediately cordoned off the area. The restaurant is located in the busy Super Market.

Some of the injured are being treated at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Science while many insisted on being taken directly to the US embassy.