Seven killed in Chinese bombing

Sunday, August 22, 2010 

Location of Aksu County (pink) and Aksu Prefecture (yellow) within Xinjiang autonomous region of China.

Seven people were killed and fourteen injured after a man detonated explosives in a crowd Friday around 10:30 local time in Aksu, Xinjiang, China. Most of the victims of the blast were ethnic minorities.

The man allegedly drove a three-wheeled vehicle armed with explosives into a crowd. The man suspected of detonating the bomb was detained, after sustaining injuries from the blast. His name is still unknown to authorities, although they do know he is a member of the Uighur ethnic group.

"The suspect is a Uighur. Most of the victims are Uighurs too," said government spokesperson Hou Hanmin.

Hou stated that police believe the attack was intentional.

In response to the bombing, martial law has been declared in Aksu City.

Sources

• David Barboza. "Blast Kills 7 in Western China" — New York Times, 19 August, 2010
• "Several dead in China explosion" — Al Jazeera, 19 August, 2010
• "Tricycle bomb attack kills seven in China" — CNN, 19 August, 2010
• Peter Foster. "Seven killed in Chinese explosion" — Telegraph, 19 August, 2010