An explosion outside the US embassy in Beijing, China

A bomb exploded outside the U.S. embassy in Beijing on Thursday, wounding the lone assailant, the embassy said in a statement, but police described the weapon merely as a “firework device”.

The explosion happened in a public space off the southeast corner of the embassy compound, the embassy said. Beijing police said the suspect, a 26-year-old man from China’s Inner Mongolia region, had injured his hand.

Witnesses told Reuters that they heard an explosion near the embassy and felt tremors.

The area where the incident took place is on the outskirts of Beijing and home to several embassies, including those of India and Israel.

China and the United States have been involved in an escalating trade dispute initiated by the Trump administration after the two sides imposed tariffs on $34 billion worth of each other’s goods.

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