Straits Times [Singapore] – BEIJING – Five people were killed and nine injured yesterday when an explosion that police believe could have been caused by a bomb ripped through a food market in northern China’s Xian city, state media reported. Based on preliminary investigations, police believe a bomb caused the blast at the crowded Tanshijie market just before noon, the China News Service said.

The blast left the surrounding area littered with glass from blown-out windows, the official Xinhua news agency said. The report did not give a possible cause, and a Xian police spokesman contacted by phone refused to comment.

Xian, the capital of Shaanxi province, has been hit by several explosions in recent months.

Last month, a home-made device went off at a Xian outlet of American fast-food chain McDonald’s, but caused no injuries.

The blast came 18 months after two people were killed and 27 others injured when a bomb exploded at another McDonald’s restaurant in the city.