A suicide bomber in China

A bomb exploded Monday in a bus in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian Province. Reuters is reporting 31 wounded. They didn't mention any deaths -- save for the one inferred death ... it's been labeled a "suicide" bombing -- and no deaths would be remarkable, considering the images from the scene. The alleged bomber was a 42-year-old farmer with terminal lung cancer. Reuters said the bomb was home made:

Police declined to comment, but a local resident reached by telephone told Reuters that a woman who got off shortly before the explosion said she saw a man board the bus carrying a plastic container emitting smoke.

Bombings by social malcontents are common in China, where explosives are relatively easy to obtain, but most go unreported in the tightly-controlled state media.

State media did not offer a motive for the bombing, but Reuters suggests it was related to the rising costs of healthcare, which is now too expensive for about half of China's farmers.

The ESWN blog has some rather gory photos from the blast.