An attacker detonated a bomb outside the U.S. Embassy in Beijing on Thursday.
“There was an explosion at approximately 1 p.m. today in the public space off the southeast corner of the embassy compound,” the U.S. Embassy said in a statement. “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.”
The Chinese state run Global Times tweeted that local residents heard a “thunder-like bang” near the building, and that a reporter at the scene said the “scent of explosives lingered on for half an hour.”
Chinese police identified the suspected perpetrator as a 26-year-old man from inner Mongolia, according to the Global Times.
In photos posted on Twitter and from Chinese social media, plumes of smoke appear to envelope the area outside the embassy.
China and the U.S. are currently embroiled in a tit-for-tat trade dispute.
#WATCH Visuals from outside the US Embassy in #Beijing soon after the blast. #China pic.twitter.com/fP6mZZpk7m
— ANI (@ANI) July 26, 2018
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