A series of bombings today in the southern Chinese city of Liuzhou killed at least seven people and left more than 50 injured, reports the Associated Press via the Guardian.
Photos posted on Twitter (link in Chinese) by state-run news site Xinhua and on the popular Chinese messaging app Weibo show rubble in the streets and smoke coming from collapsed buildings in Liuzhou, a city in the Liucheng county in the southern region of Guangxi. The bombings, 13 in all, happened between 3:15pm and 5pm local time and seemed targeted at public buildings; the police confirmed in a statement that a hospital, shopping center, markets, bus station, prison, and government worker dormitories had all been hit by explosions.
A spokesperson from the state-run CCTV said the bombs were caused by explosive devices sent to these buildings in packages in the mail. Reuters reports that “disaffected or mentally unstable” Chinese people have set off explosives in a similar fashion before, and that the Chinese authorities refer to these attacks as “sudden incidents” resulting from public anger toward the government.
According to the People’s Daily, Chinese authorities have arrested a 33-year-old man surnamed Wei as a suspect; an investigation is still under way, but the police have said they ruled out a terrorist attack.