The police station, where the office of the Criminal Investigation Department, which also investigates militancy, is located, was destroyed in the blast.

Residents said the explosion rattled windows throughout town. Television showed police and soldiers cordoning off the affected district.

One policeman was killed and 15 were wounded in the dawn attack, hospital officials said.

The bombing comes days after a brazen raid on a heavily guarded Pakistani naval base in the southern city of Karachi in which 10 military personnel were killed and two aircraft destroyed. The Pakistani Taliban said they staged that assault to avenge the death of al Qaeda leader bin Laden.

Wednesday's attack in Peshawar occurred about 1 km (half a mile) from the US consulate and in the same district where a car bomb exploded last week as a US consulate convoy passed by. One man was killed and about a dozen people were wounded, including two US nationals.

Peshawar is the gateway to Pakistan's turbulent northwest region believed to have become a hub of al Qaeda and Taliban militants.

The Pakistani Taliban also claimed responsibility for the attack on the US convoy, the first attack on foreigners since a US commando team killed bin Laden early this month.