China McDonald's blast kills one

Earlier this year, China was hit by a series of blasts

BEIJING, China -- An explosion has killed one person and injured 27 others in a McDonald's restaurant in central China, one day after bombings in the southern part of the country killed five people.

The blast Saturday evening at the McDonald's in Xi'an, a city popular with tourists, was caused by a "man-made device," the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

The report said a probe is under way but did not name any suspects or offer a motive for the apparent attack.

Hospital officials said they treated up to 30 people, many with ear and eye injuries. Police, city and fire officials contacted by Reuters news agency declined to comment.

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The head of McDonald's in Xi'an, Wang Xinwu, said he did not know if the store was deliberately targeted.

They received no warnings before the explosion and the identity of the man killed is unclear, Wang told The Associated Press news agency.

The explosion hit the ground floor of the two-storey restaurant. The store reopened for business as normal on Sunday morning, he added.

Xi'an is home to a sizeable ethnic Uighur Muslim population.

Uighur separatists have been responsible for a series of bombings in western China, but it was not immediately known if they played any role in Saturday's explosion.

The ancient city of Xi'an is the site of China's famed terracotta warriors, a major tourist attraction.

Series of blasts

Bombing incidents are on the rise in China, where explosives are cheap and easy to buy. They are often blamed on spurned lovers or disgruntled workers.

The McDonald's blast came in the wake of a series of 23 explosions on Friday, which killed five people and injured seven others in the cities of Zhanjiang and Jiangmen in southern China's Guangdong province, Xinhua said.

Police identified the bomber as Lin Guojian, who was killed in one of the blasts.

Lin was seeking revenge against his former brother-in-law, Wang Qixin, for divorcing his sister, police said. He placed explosives in Wang's home, and the homes of Wang's parents and sister, Xinhua said.

Lin also placed explosives in the homes of other families with whom he had argued over debts and other economic problems, Xinhua said.

Lin had prepared for the attacks, buying books on how to set off explosions, Xinhua cited police as saying.

In March this year, blasts at a dormitory in the northern industrial city of Shijiazhuang killed more than 100 people in an incident police blamed on a man driven by jealousy and revenge.