Chinese police arrested nine Buddhist monks suspected of bombing a government building in Tibet, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday. China has accused Tibetan groups of planning suicide attacks following last month's riots and protests, but this would appear to be the first report of a bomb attack during the unrest.
Xinhua said the bombing occurred on March 23. It did not say whether any damage or deaths had been caused. Xinhua said nine monks from the Tongxia Monastery in Gyanbe Township in Tibet had confessed to the crime. "Cewang Yexe, one of the suspects, brought a homemade bomb with a motorcycle to the site and moved it into the office building with the help of others," it reported. "They detonated the bomb and ran away."