Police have seized nine suspects allegedly responsible for the bombing of a Tibetan township government building, the Tibet autonomous regional department of social security said on Saturday.

The blast occurred at 3:50 am on March 23 in Gyanbe township, Konjo county, Qambo prefecture.

Local police cracked the case on April 6 and apprehended the suspects, who were said to be headed by 27-year-old Rinqen Jamcan.

Cewang Yexe, one of the suspects, allegedly brought a homemade bomb on a motorcycle to the site and moved it into the office building with the help of others. They detonated the bomb before fleeing the scene. Jamcan is a ranking monk in the Tongxia Monastery in the town, while the other eight are monks from the temple. The suspects confessed to the crime.

In a separate case, a suspect in the Lhasa riots confessed to slashing an innocent passerby with a long knife, Lhasa police said on Saturday.

Gungqug Toinzhub, 32, was the No 2 suspect in a list of wanted by local police for participation in the March 14 attacks. He was nabbed on April 6. The suspect said he slashed a passerby thrice on the Beijing East Road.

(China Daily/Xinhua News Agency April 14, 2008)