A loud explosion was heard near the U.S. Embassy in Beijing Thursday.
Eyewitnesses posted photos on social media of a large cloud of smoke filling the air outside the diplomatic compound in the Chinese capital.
The state-run Global Times newspaper says police detained a woman near the U.S. embassy who had doused herself with gasoline in a suspected attempt at self-immolation.
There were no immediate comments from police or the embassy on the incident.