Small explosion near U.S. Embassy in China injures man

July 26 (UPI) -- A small explosion occurred Thursday outside the U.S. Embassy in China and injured the man who set it off, authorities said.

Beijing police said the 26-year-old suspect received a non-life-threatening injury to his hand and was taken to a hospital.

Officials said the man, identified only by the surname Jiang, is from Tongliao in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia.

A statement from the U.S. Embassy said the blast happened on the street outside the consulate compound.

"Other than the bomber, no other people were injured and there was no damage to embassy property," the statement said.

The nature of the explosive was described by an embassy spokesperson as a bomb. Beijing police, though, said it was a firecracker. A witness told NPR the blast was comparable to a large firework.

News about the explosion was quickly censored on Chinese social media, and within hours most mentions of the explosion were wiped clean from WeChat and Weibo.