A car has exploded outside the Chinese embassy in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, in an apparent suicide bombing, according to the Associated Press, citing the country’s deputy prime minister.
The official said that the blast wounded at least three embassy employees, all Kyrgyz nationals. The driver was killed.
Reuters reports that the state security service, the GKNB, is investigating the blast but adds that details are scant.
An 18-year-old Kyrgyz waitress named Agel, who works at a restaurant close to the embassy, told TIME by phone that she “heard the terrorist attack” and was “a little scared.” She added: “Normally our city is safe, our relationship with Chinese people is good. I hope it won’t happen again.”
According to the Kyrgyz news website 24.kg, as cited by Reuters, the blast occurred after the vehicle rammed the embassy gates.
—With reporting from Yang Siqi / Beijing
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