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World|life|July 26, 2018 / 02:43 PM
Bomb detonated outside US embassy in Beijing

AKIPRESS.COM - A man has detonated an explosive device outside the US embassy in Beijing, according to the US state department, injuring himself but no one else, The Guardian reported.

The explosion occurred at the south-east corner of the embassy compound, a heavily fortified structure in the north-east of the Chinese capital, at about 1pm local time (6am BST).

A US embassy spokesperson said: “According to the embassy’s regional security officer, there was one individual who detonated a bomb. Other than the bomber, no other people were injured and there was no damage to embassy property. The local police responded.”

Chinese police said in a statement that the suspect was a 26-year-old man who hurt his hand while setting off a small “firecracker-like explosive”.

Police identified him only by his surname, Jiang, and said he was from Tongliao, a city in China’s Inner Mongolia region. Police said he had been detained and taken to hospital.

Videos and photos posted on social media earlier on Thursday showed smoke at a crossroads as groups of pedestrians gathered and police surrounded the area, which is home to several embassies. A Chinese police car near the embassy appeared to have been damaged. Witnesses reported hearing the blast.

A witness who only gave his surname, Li, said he was cleaning the road outside the nearby Japanese embassy at the time of the incident. “I heard the sound of a big explosion and then women screaming,” he said.

News of the blast spread quickly on Chinese social media, attracting nearly 1m views before search terms related to the blast were blocked.

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