Disgruntled China villager bombs local government office

BEIJING (AFP) - A villager in rural east China unhappy over social injustice detonated an explosive in a local government building Monday, killing himself and wounding six others, state press said.

Qu Huaqiang, a "disgruntled petitioner," allegedly set off homemade explosives at the government offices in Tengjia township, Shandong province on Monday morning, Xinhua news agency said.

It was not clear if the injured were government officials. No other details were immediately available. News of the bombing circulated widely on the Internet with numerous microbloggers expressing sympathy with the suspect bomber, while criticising as a sham China's petition system, an age-old institution aimed at addressing injustice.

An official in Tengjia when contacted by AFP confirmed the bombing, but denied that Qu was a petitioner. Township authorities were investigating the incident, he said, while refusing to comment further.