HONG KONG (AP) — A remotely controlled explosive device intended to “kill or hurt” police officers was detoned Sunday during protests in Hong Kong, police said Monday, in an escalation of violence in anti-government protests that they have already entered their fifth month.” It exploded within two meters (yards) of a police vehicle. We have reason to believe that the bomb was intended to attack police officers,” Deputy Commissioner Tang Ping-keung said at a news conference, speaking through a translator.
No casualties were reported. This is the first known use of an explosive device in protests, Tang said. Marches began in June due to a controversial reform of extraditions and have become a movement against the government, police and Beijing’s control over Chinese semi-autonomous territory. The device was made from a “very effective” explosive, said Chin-chiu Suryanto, a member of the police bomb division.
The artifact made a “loud dry noise” as it erupted on Sunday on a normally bustling avenue in Kowloon, the expert added.
The use of explosives is an escalation of violence used in anti-government protests, comparing the use of such a device with “terrorist events” elsewhere in the world.
