SUICIDE BOMBING IN CHINA

Apparently it's somewhat common, but seldom do we hear about such cases. Thank you, state-run media!

This report from New Kerala kicks:

A 42-year-old farmer with terminal lung cancer set off a homemade bomb aboard a bus in southeastern China today in a suicide attack that wounded 31, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Xinhua did not give a motive for the attack in central Fuzhou, capital of Fujian province, but it followed criticisms by senior health officials of health care costs that have risen beyond the means of many in rural areas.

The bomb was strong enough to blow out the windows of nearby stores, Xinhua said.

Pictures seen by Reuters showed rescue workers carrying victims on stretchers. One woman had deep cuts on her face, legs and abdomen, with part of her intestines spilling out. An unconscious man had black burns on his bloodied legs.

Xinhua did not identify the farmer.

Police declined to comment, but a local resident reached by telephone told Reuters that a woman who got off shortly before the explosion said she saw a man board the bus carrying a plastic container emitting smoke.

Bombings by social malcontents are common in China, where explosives are relatively easy to obtain, but most go unreported in the tightly-controlled state media.

When someone boards your bus carrying a smoking plastic container, you can bet he or she is a social malcontent. Good thing this dude blew up before the Chinese government grabbed hold of him.