The authorities in Bangladesh have launched an inquiry into two bomb blasts which injured more than 100 people in the south-western town of Satkhira on Saturday.

Senior officials including the Home Minister and the head of police are in Satkhira to launch the investigation.

The Deputy Commissioner of the district, Abdul Matin Chowdhury, said about 25 people had been seriously injured.

Police say the bombs went off within 10 minutes of each other at a cinema hall and a circus.

So far, the authorities say they are unsure who was responsible for the blasts.

Surprise attack

The two explosions took the authorities by surprise, and created panic and mayhem in Satkhira.

The BBC's Dhaka correspondent Alastair Lawson says the town does not have a violent reputation and no serious political tension.

The first bomb destroyed the tin roof of the cinema hall, which fell on top of about 100 people.

Police say both bombs were crude home-made devices which contained metal fragments and were intended to cause serious injuries.

The bomb explosions are the first in Bangladesh since the election of a coalition government led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party just under a year ago.

In the last year of the previous government's tenure in power, there were several bomb blasts and around 100 people were killed.

The opposition Awami League said many of those attacks were carried out by Islamic hardliners, but the government says supporters of the opposition were responsible.