U.N. dismayed at Uzbekistan attacks

UNITED NATIONS, July 30 (UPI) -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan Friday voiced dismay at a series of bombings in the Central Asia nation of Uzbekistan.

Officials said two people were killed and about a dozen others injured in attacks in the capital of Tashkent directed against the Israeli and U.S. embassies and the office of the nation's prosecutor, who has been pursuing cases against reputed Islamic terrorists.

A spokeswoman at U.N. World Headquarters in New York, Marie Okabe, said the secretary-general strongly believes, "Targeting of diplomatic missions and civilians is a crime that cannot be justified by any cause."

Annan was attending an Accra, Ghana, summit of West Africa leaders on the political crisis in Ivory Coast.