Blast Rocks Central Prague

PRAGUE, Czech Republic – A bomb exploded under a car outside a casino on a downtown street in the Czech capital Sunday, wounding at least 18 people, many of them foreign tourists, authorities said.

The bomb went off just after noon in a popular pedestrian zone in downtown Prague (search) where there are many restaurants and cafes. The injured included tourists from Britain, the United States, Germany and Slovakia, Czech officials said.

"We can rule out it was a terrorist attack," police spokeswoman Iva Knolova told The Associated Press. "It was a criminal act," she said. She refused to elaborate.

The bomb attack likely targeted the owner of the Casino Royal, a police officer at the scene said on condition of anonymity. Earlier, police at the scene had said a hand grenade caused the blast.

The area was blocked and police were investigating the incident.

All the injuries appeared to be slight, said Marek Uhlir, spokesman for Prague's emergency service. He said a child was among them.

The injured were taken to four hospitals in Prague for treatment, he said. He had no other details.

The Foreign Office in London said two Britons were hurt in the explosion.

The U.S. Embassy was not immediately aware of any U.S. citizen injured in the explosion, spokeswoman Lisa Helling said.