Explosion reported outside US embassy in Beijing

AN EXPLOSION has reportedly occurred outside the US embassy in Beijing.

The US embassy complex is in Beijing’s Chaoyang District.

Witnesses have posted images on Twitter of smoke surrounding the building. Another bystander said there had been injuries.

According to Chinese media reports, a witness said police took away a woman spraying petrol on herself in a suspected attempt at self-immolation.

Although it is not known if the reported blast is terrorism-related, US embassies are frequently the target of terrorist violence, with a dozen incidents reported at American diplomatic posts around the world over the past decade.

The most deadly attacks on US embassies happened on August 7, 1998, when al-Qaeda operatives simultaneously detonated car bombs outside the US embassies in the Kenyan capital Nairobi and the Tanzanian capital Dar Es Salaam. Those attacks, masterminded by Osama bin Laden, left a total of 224 people dead, the overwhelming majority of whom (213) were caught in the Nairobi blast.

There have not previously been any attacks on US embassies or consulates in China.