Police in Beijing reportedly arrested five people on Wednesday in the search for suspects involved in the Tiananmen Square car crash. The incident killed five people on Monday and for the first time, authorities confirmed it was a terrorist attack.
The capital was ringed by checkpoints and traffic jams formed as police checked drivers’ documents and searched the trunks of many vehicles with license plates from outside Beijing.
The attack was carried out by three people who drove an SUV into a crowd in the square, setting it on fire and killing themselves and two tourists.
One theory is the incident was prompted by Muslim separatists from the Xinjiang area bordering Central Asia, which China has accused of fighting for an independent state. This is the first time they are suspected of a suicide attack, however.
Security has been even tighter in Tiananmen Square, the very heart of Chinese power, since the incident.
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