Homemade explosive device detonates near Hong Kong police car: report
Heavily-protected Hong Kong police surround a bleeding protester in the street
Policedetain a protestor in Hong Kong during violent clashes on Sunday.
Hong Kong police say a homemade remote-controlled explosive device intended to “kill or to harm” police officers was detonated during protests on Sunday, in a further escalation of violence from anti-government unrest now in its fifth month.
Key points:
Police say the device exploded about two metres from a police vehicle
It’s the first known use of an explosive device during the five-months long protest
A police officer said the use of the device was akin to “terrorist events”
“It exploded less than two metres away from a police vehicle,” Deputy Commissioner Tang Ping-keung said at a news conference.
“We have reason to believe that the bomb was meant to target police officers.”
No casualties were reported.
Mr Tang said it was the first known use of an explosive device during the protests that started in June over a contested extradition bill and have since snowballed into an anti-government, anti-police and anti-China movement.
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Hong Kong police say homemade bomb exploded near officers
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Chin-chiu Suryanto, an officer with the police force’s bomb-disposal unit, said the device was concocted with a “highly effective” explosive.
He said there was “a loud thud” from the detonation Sunday night on a usually busy thoroughfare in Kowloon.
He said the use of an explosive device marked an escalation in the violence seen during the anti-government protests.
He likened the use of such a device to “terrorist events” seen elsewhere in the world.
