DHAKA: Police in China have detained five suspects in connection with Monday’s deadly car crash at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.

China state media report, says the BBC.

Police have described the incident as a ‘violent terror attack’, the Xinhua news agency says, for first time.

All three people in the car had names from the Muslim Uighur minority in the restive western region of Xinjiang.

Two bystanders died and 38 people were injured after the vehicle crashed into a crowd and burst into flames.

The police said that what happened at Tiananmen Square was a ‘violent terrorist attack’ which was ‘carefully planned and organised’, Xinhua says.

The jeep that crashed into a bridge in front of the Forbidden City was driven by a man who was with his wife and mother, police said in a statement.

All three had names from the Muslim Uighur minority in the Xinjiang region.

The three ignited petrol inside the car, they added.

BDST: 1950 HRS, OCT 30, 2013
RoR/SRS