Five Britons Injured in Prague Bombing

Czech authorities are working on the theory that a bomb blast in the heart of Prague which injured 18 people yesterday, including five tourists from Britain and Ireland, was intended as an attack on an Israeli-owned casino.

The republic's prime minister, Stanislav Gross, toured the area immediately after the explosion and dismissed fears that it was linked to terrorism. It was, he said in a radio interview, "a case of gangs settling accounts."

The target was believed to be the Royal Casino on Na Prikope, a busy street that is popular with tourists.

Many of the injured were visitors from countries including Britain, the US, Ireland, Cyprus, Germany and Slovakia.

None of their injuries were thought to be life-threatening. One of the victims was a child.

Five of those caught in the explosion, which happened at around 12.30pm on Sunday, were from a party of two Britons and three Irish tourists who had been sitting together at a nearby garden cafe. They were taken to the Motole hospital.

One of the Britons is understood to have been hit in the neck by shrapnel. His injury was said to be serious but his condition was described as stable. His girlfriend was struck in the hand. Both are in their early 20s.

"They were brought in immediately after the explosion happened," a hospital spokeswoman said. "The surgeon made an examination and carried out x-rays. They are OK but very shocked."

The three Irish people injured in the explosion were discharged from hospital last night, according to the Irish department of foreign affairs.

None of the five - two women and three men - were identified by their governments yesterday.

"British embassy officials immediately went to the scene of the explosion and then to the local hospital to provide consular assistance," the Foreign Office said. Relatives were being informed.

Initial reports suggested the explosion was caused by at least one hand grenade being rolled under what may have been a parked armoured car. It was not clear whether the attack was part of an attempted robbery or a gangland feud.

The Czech police said: "We can rule out that it was a terrorist attack. It was a criminal act." The incident was being treated as attempted murder.

Gambling is banned in Israel and a lucrative trade has grown up in recent years flying Israeli customers to newly-established casinos in central and eastern Europe.

Gangs often fight for control of the business.

In August 2002 a Tel Aviv casino owner, Felix Abutbul, was shot in Prague. His floating casino off the Israeli port of Eilat was subsequently raided by Israeli police. The Royal Casino in Prague was formerly owned by Mr Abutbul.

An Israeli lawyer for the current owner, Assi Abutbul, told Israeli army radio that his client had been in a vehicle while Sunday's attack was going on, but he had not been hurt because the vehicle was armoured. The lawyer, Tsion Amir, said that Assi Abutbul had been "surprised".

"There was a loud noise and a great commotion," Mr Amir said.

He said his client told him that his would-be assailants appeared to be Thai.

Na Prikope is Prague's busiest shopping street. It is near Wenceslas Square and the heart of the old city.

Thousands of Britons visit Prague every weekend at the height of the tourist season.

Czech police have been on high alert for many months, fearing that the country could become the target for an attack by al-Qaida.

The former communist state has been a member of Nato since 1999, and sent around 90 soldiers to Iraq as part of the US-led coalition.

Israel's police chief, Moshe Karady, told Israeli army radio yesterday that there was a connection between the attack and crime groups of interest to the Israeli police.

"Our intelligence people will collaborate with the appropriate people in the Czech police in order to get to the bottom of the incident and the connection to Israeli criminals," he said.