PESHAWAR - A big explosion badly damaged a police station on Wednesday in Pakistan's volatile town of Peshawar, near the Afghan border, wounding several people and causing widespread damage, police said.

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Police said the dawn blast all but flattened the police station. Local television said 10 people were wounded.

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

The incident occurred about 1 km 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.

The Pakistani Taliban said it carried out that assault, the first attack on foreigners since a US commando team killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden early this month.