3 killed in bus explosions in China

Explosions this morning in the southern Chinese city of Kunming killed at least three people and injured 13 in what appears to have been a coordinated terrorist attack.

One explosion at 7:05 a.m. on a commuter bus was followed by another an hour later on a bus downtown.

Chinese police have not yet given any explanation other than to say that the attacks were “sabotage,” according to the New China News Agency.

There were unconfirmed reports in Chinese state media that there had been a third explosion.

Passengers on the second bus told a local newspaper, Life Daily News, that they saw two men leave an unidentified object on board.

“Later, two men got off the bus, then it exploded. One-third of the bus was seriously damaged. The fire wasn’t very big, but the smoke was dense and there were strong odors,” the newspaper reported. One person was killed in the second bus explosion, and two in the earlier one.

An explosion on a bus in Shanghai in May killed three people in an attack that Chinese authorities blamed on a passenger carrying flammable liquids. Few public details have been released about the incident. Terrorist attacks are relatively rare in China.

Authorities have announced in recent months roundups of Islamic separatists who they say planned to disrupt the Beijing Olympics. Security has been tightened at airports and train stations across the country. Commuters in Beijing are screened as they enter the subway and Shanghai is also installing a surveillance system in its subways.

Kunming is the capital of Yunnan province, one of the poorest areas of China. It has a sizable minority population, including many Tibetans. Over the weekend, a clash between rubber farmers and police in Yunnan’s Menglian County, about 350 miles from Kunming, left two people dead and more than 41 police officers injured. There are no indications that the clash was connected with today’s bus explosions.

 barbara.demick@latimes.com