Explosion at Chinese embassy in Kyrgyzstan; 1 dead

Bishkek, Aug 30: A car exploded after hitting the Chinese embassy's gate here, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, killing its driver besides injuring three persons, the country's healthcare ministry informed. The injured are all employees of the embassy.

The GKNB state security service it was probing the bast though it did not give any other details, according to Reuters.

"As a result of the explosion, only the suicide bomber terrorist died. Security guards were injured," Kyrgyzstan's Deputy Prime Minister Jenish Razakov told journalists, AFP said.

Razakov said the injured were all Kyrgyz employees of the embassy and were taken to the hospital where it was said the injuries were not serious.

Bishkek police sources informed AFP that a Mitsubishi Delica car rammed through the gate at the embassy before blowing up in the compound located close to the ambassador's residence.

Another security service source in the former Soviet Central Asian nation, which borders China, said an "explosive device" had been placed inside the vehicle, AFP added.

The explosion had quite an impact in the surrounding areas as local residents said it had damaged their house windows and made the buildings shake. The Chinese embassy as well as the American embassy located on the edge of the Kyrgyz capital were evacuated following the explosion, the country's emergency service said.

Kyrgyzstan is a poor, Muslim-majority country with a history of political instability and struggle against Islamist extremism. The country, which gained independence in 1991 following the collapse of the erstwhile Soviet Union, battles with Islamic State militants regularly. Officials said some 500 Kyrgyz are believed to have joined the IS ranks fighting in Syria and Iraq, the AFP report said.

Chinese officials have been targeted in Kyrgyzstan previously as well with one killed in 2000 in an attack for which radicals from China's Uighur minority are held responsible.

Oneindia News

[With agency inputs]