3 injured as explosion rocks Chinese embassy in Kyrgyzstan

An explosion has rocked the Chinese embassy in the southern part of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, after a car rammed the gates of the compound. Three local people were injured in the blast.

At least one person died in the explosion, Emergency Response headquarters confirmed to national news agency 24.kg. Police confirmed receiving reports of the explosion, saying that first responders have already been dispatched to the site.

The Emergencies Ministry also confirmed casualties to Interfax, adding that the explosion took place inside the Chinese embassy compound.

According to preliminary reports a car rammed one of the gates of the embassy. The driver of the vehicle reportedly died in the blast.

Three more people including two embassy staff were injured in the explosion, according to medics. They suffered non-life-threatening wounds from shrapnel.

Kyrgyzstan's Deputy Prime Minister Zhenish Razakov called the incident a “suicide car bombing attack.”

“A suicide bomber was driving Mitsubishi Delica car. All injured are Kyrgyz citizens,” he said, adding that the attacker later succumbed to his injuries.

According to a TASS source in the Interior Ministry, the explosive was planted inside the attacker’s car. The source, however, said that it is too early to call the incident a “terrorist attack.”

The fact that the incident was a terrorist attack was also confirmed by Chyngyz Esengul Uulu from the press office of Kyrgyz Prime Minister Sooronbay Jeenbekov.

China's Foreign Ministry condemned the bombing, calling it an “extreme and violent attack,” spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters, as cited by Reuters. Kyrgyz authorities should “get to the bottom of the incident,” she added.