Los Angeles, United States — A bomb blast outside a California fertility clinic killed one person Saturday, in what the US attorney general called an "unforgivable" attack.

The blast ripped through downtown Palm Springs, badly damaging the clinic and blowing out the windows and doors of other nearby buildings.

"The blast appears to be an intentional act of violence and the blast extends for blocks with several buildings damaged, some severely," Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Mills said.

"There has been one fatality, the person's identity is not known."

The city's mayor, Ron deHarte told AFP investigators had "confirmed a bomb exploded in or near a vehicle."

Eyewitnesses told local media they had seen human remains near the American Reproductive Centers clinic, with aerial footage of the scene showing the building roof had collapsed.

The charred remnants of a vehicle lay in a parking lot, some distance from the apparent epicenter of the explosion.

Debris was blown straight through the building and scattered across the road, while the roofs of a number of nearby buildings had been damaged, indicating the intense force of the blast.

The local ABC affiliate, which cited an unnamed law enforcement source, reported five people were injured in the explosion and the person who died was a suspect in the blast.

A statement posted on social media by the clinic said no staff had been hurt, and that its lab -- "including all eggs, embryos, and reproductive materials -- remains fully secure and undamaged."

It said that "a vehicle exploded in the parking lot near our building."

Reproductive care, including abortion and fertility services, remains controversial in the United States, where some conservatives believe the procedures should be outlawed for religious reasons.

Violence against clinics providing such services is rare, but not unheard of.

President Donald Trump's Attorney General Pam Bondi said federal agents were working to determine exactly what had happened.

"But let me be clear: the Trump administration understands that women and mothers are the heartbeat of America. Violence against a fertility clinic is unforgivable," she said in a statement on social media. 

'Unforgivable'

People living near the clinic reported feeling the shaking from the blast throughout the city.

Matt Spencer, who lives in a nearby apartment complex, told the Palm Springs Post he ran outside as soon as he heard the blast, and was confronted with the sight of the burned out car and what appeared to be a body in the middle of the road.

"In front of the building [the car] was blown clear across four lanes into the parking lot of [Desert Regional Medical Center]," he told the paper.

"I could see the back of the car still on fire and the rims, that was the only thing that distinguished it as a car."

California Governor Gavin Newsom had been briefed on the explosion, his office said.

US Attorney Bill Essayli said his office was aware of the blast.

"FBI is on scene and will be investigating whether this was an intentional act," he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.