An explosion on a busy central Nairobi street yesterday killed at least one person and critically injured about six others, police and witnesses said. A senior police officer on the scene said the explosion, at about 0500 GMT appeared to be a suicide bombing.

The rush-hour blast sent passers-by flying and left a severed leg lodged in a shattered shop window at the scene, outside a row of shops near the Ambassadeur hotel.

A mangled corpse lay on the street. ?This sort of attack is very unusual for Nairobi,? said the police officer, who asked not to be named.

Police Commissioner Hussein Ali said five or six people were injured and in critical condition after the explosion. Other reports said 10 people were hurt.

Some witnesses said a bomb had gone off in a waste bin, but others said it was held by someone in a bus queue. The blast shattered windows and burned a nearby bus. Local KTN television said a man carrying a grenade was killed when it exploded as he tried to board the bus.