Kathmandu - Two bombings in Pokhara, a city in western Nepal that is popular with tourists, injured six people and sparked panic among residents, media reports said Thursday.

The bombs went off within 20 minutes of each other late Wednesday in the commercial district of the city about 180 kilometres west of Kathmandu, the Kantipur newspaper reported.

The bombs were placed in public places within a half-kilometre of one another, the newspaper quoted police as saying

A child was among the injured in the blasts, which damaged a house in the city where tourists organize treks into the Annapurna mountains.

The Terai Army, a group that claims to fight for the Madhesi ethnic group's right to self-determination, claimed responsibility for the blasts.

The group was involved in similar bombings at bus stops in September in Kathmandu, which killed three people.

The Kaski district police office said it had yet to make an arrest. The bombs caused few casualties, it said, because they occurred after most shops had closed and few people were in the area.

Additional police were deployed in the city, and they were searching bags and other belongings and frisking people, news reports said.

The numbers of bombings in public places have grown in Nepal since the end of the Maoist insurgency in 2006.

Ethnic groups are demanding greater political and economic rights with some calling for autonomy. Some of the groups have used violence to press their demands. (dpa)