TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- Police shot and killed a suicide bomber outside the Israeli Embassy in the Uzbek capital on Friday, the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent said.

Police had sealed off the street where the embassy is located but denied that anything was amiss. However, the U.S. Embassy said on its Web site that an attacker had been killed. It did not report any other casualties.

"There was an incident right outside the Israeli embassy in Tashkent and it is under investigation," said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev, giving no further details. No one answered phones at the Israeli Embassy in Tashkent.

The shooting came as tensions rose in the Central Asian nation. Armed protesters freed inmates from a prison overnight and shooting was reported in the eastern city of Andijan on Friday as thousands took to the streets to protest the trial of 23 prominent businessmen on charges of Islamic extremism.

Uzbek President Islam Karimov and other leaders were flying to Andijan, while the Defense Ministry held an urgent meeting on the unrest, police and government officials said on condition of anonymity.

In southern Tashkent, dozens of police stood at each end of Abdulla Kahhor Street, where the Israeli Embassy is located, on Friday morning and prevented people from approaching. The building itself was sealed off by red police tape. An ambulance was seen entering the area.

It was the second known attempted suicide attack against the Israeli Embassy in a year. In July, two Uzbek guards, including the ambassador´s personal bodyguard, were killed in a suicide bombing at the embassy.

The U.S. Embassy and Uzbek prosecutors´ office also were targeted in nearly simultaneous suicide attacks, which killed seven people in all.

Uzbek leaders blamed Islamic extremists for the bombings. (Copyright 2005 Associated Press. 05/13/05)