Gunmen open fire on U.S. center

Investigators at the scene. U.S. Embassy officials said the motive for the attack is unclear

KOLKATA, India (CNN) -- Two unidentified gunmen on motorcycles have opened fire on the American Center in Kolkata (Calcutta), eastern India, killing at least four Indian guards and injuring 14 other people.

Officials say the assailants rode up to the center at about 6:30a.m. (0100 GMT) on Tuesday and shot at the armed guards outside the complex before fleeing the scene.

No U.S. center staff were injured in the attack, officials from the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi told CNN.

Of the wounded, 10 were armed guards, 10 were bystanders, and one was a security staffer. The injured have been taken to hospital for treatment, officials said.

The American Center is in a crowded downtown area of Kolkata and houses offices of the U.S. consulate, a cultural affairs center and a library.

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"The U.S. consulate is in a separate location and was not affected by events this morning," consulate spokesman Rex Moser told CNN.

Moser added that he was not aware of any threats to the center.

U.S. Embassy officials said it was unclear what the motive for the attack was.

If the attack occurred later in the day, when the streets are crowded with thousands of people, the death toll could have been significantly higher.

Security issues

The incident comes as FBI Director Robert Mueller and U.S. Ambassador at Large Francis X. Taylor, President George W. Bush's coordinator for counterterrorism, were in India to discuss security issues.

On Monday, Indian and American officials also held the first meetings of the Joint Working Group on Counterterrorism, the first since the September 11 terror attacks in the United States.

Security has been tightened in recent months at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, consulate buildings across the country and other offices to prevent possible attacks by Islamic guerrillas fighting to separate the Himalayan region of Kashmir from Indian control.

Tensions have been high between India and Pakistan in recent weeks.

India -- the victim of two terror attacks at government buildings in October and December -- blames Pakistan for backing cross-border terrorism.

Both countries have massed hundreds of thousands of troops along their common border in eastern Pakistan and northwestern India.

Kolkata, in eastern India, is in the communist-run West Bengal state, where there have been protests against U.S. interests.