Source: CNN News

Three people were killed Thursday evening in a blast at a busy McDonald’s in eastern Indonesia, one of two explosions in the town as the Muslim fast of Ramadan ended.

A hospital official said several people were injured at the fast food restaurant in Makassar, the provincial capital of South Sulawesi, which is about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) east of Jakarta, the Indonesian capital.

It was packed after the breaking of the month-long fast when the blast went off at 6:45 p.m.

McDonald’s spokesman John Blyth said the company was working with police to try to determine the cause of the explosion.

“Our top priority is to do everything we can to support the victims and their families,” Blyth said. “We want to emphasize that the authorities have not identified the cause and so we caution anyone from jumping to conclusions.”

Blyth said the restaurant is “owned by local Indonesians.”

The other explosion took place about 8 p.m. in an empty car showroom a few miles away. No injuries were reported.

Police said they do not know whether the blasts were connected. There was no claim of responsibility, The Associated Press quoted a local radio station as saying.

Bombings have become a regular feature of a continuing conflict between Muslims and Christians on Sulawesi island.

Since 1999 nearly 2,000 people have died in the fighting and tens of thousands left homeless.

A peace deal was signed late last year but violence has increased in recent months.

Attackers in Sulawesi rarely target Western interests such as McDonald’s, but following an October bomb attack in Bali that killed nearly 200 people many Western governments have expressed fears of attacks on their citizens and issued travel warnings for Indonesia.

Added: 2004