Suicide bomber hits Chinese embassy in Kyrgyzstan

China vowed Tuesday to “resolutely strike against all forms of terrorism” after a a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden van inside the compound of the Chinese embassy in Kyrgyzstan, killing himself and wounding several others.

After ramming through the main door of the compound in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek, the driver “immediately detonated the explosive device packed in the van, causing a powerful explosion, killing himself and wounding two security guards and three local people working at the embassy,” China’s official Xinhua news agency reported.

Officials from both Beijing and Kyrgyzstan — a predominantly Muslim former Soviet republic that borders China to the northwest — described the assault as a terrorist act and Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev ordered his government to quickly expand counterterrorism measures in the capital and surrounding areas.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, although rumors swirled over the extent to which it may have involved the Islamic State.

Recent months have seen Kyrgyz authorities arrest several suspected jihadis in the nation with alleged links to the Syria- and Iraq-based group, also known as ISIS and ISIL, which is seen to be actively recruiting militants in Kyrgyzstan and other former Soviet republics.

Fears of terrorist activity in the region heightened in June after Turkish authorities said three men who carried out a deadly attack on Istanbul airport were of Uzbek, Russian and Kyrgyz descent.