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12:08 (GMT+4) A suspected suicide bomber rammed the gates of the Chinese embassy in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek on August 30, killing himself and wounding three others, officials said.

An Interior Ministry spokesman said the car exploded inside the compound and quoted Deputy Prime Minister Janysh Razakov as describing the blast as “a terrorist act,” Reuters reported on August 30.

Police, who cordoned off the building and the adjacent area, and the GKNB state security service said they were investigating the incident, which occurred around 10:00 local time (UTC/GMT+6).

Authorities in Kyrgyzstan, a mostly Muslim former Soviet republic of 6 million people, routinely detain suspected Islamist militants accused of being linked to the Islamic State, which actively recruits from Central Asia.

An anti-Chinese militant group made up of ethnic Uighurs is also active in the region. In 2014, Kyrgyz border guards killed 11 people believed to be members of that group who had illegally crossed the Chinese-Kyrgyz border.

11:02 (GMT+4) Kyrgyzstan’s Deputy Prime Minister Zhenish Razakov said that the suicide bomber died and three embassy employees, all Kyrgyz nationals, were injured while a car driven by a suicide bomber has exploded after ramming the gates of the Chinese embassy in the Kyrgyz capital, BBC News reported on August 30.

The chief of security at the Chinese embassy told the local AKIpress news agency that no Chinese were hurt.

Social media footage showed smoke billowing above the building.

Other images showed broken glass and concrete.

The vehicle reportedly smashed through the gates and exploded in the centre of the compound, close to the ambassador's residence.

As well as Chinese embassy employees, staff at the American embassy nearby were evacuated.

Kyrgyz security officials are at the scene conducting an investigation.

09:31 (GMT+4) An explosion near the Chinese embassy in Kyrgyzstan has killed at least one person and wounded several others, the Guardian reported on August 30.

The health ministry said a car exploded near the embassy in Bishkek, killing its driver and wounding three people.

The GKNB state security service said it was investigating the blast but provided no other details.

Kyrgyz news website 24.kg reported that the car appeared to have rammed the embassy’s gate before exploding.

08:43 (GMT+4) At least one person has been killed by the explosion in the Chinese embassy in Kyrgyzstan's capital of Bishkek, Sputnik reported.

08:12 (GMT+4) An explosion has hit the city of Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan, RIA Novosti reported.

According to witnesses, the explosion has occurred in the southern part of Bishkek.

No casualties were reported in the incident.

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