China arrests 16 monks for alleged involvement in bombings

It said some of the bombings failed, while others apparently succeeded. No injuries were reported.

The attacks took place in early April and the monks were detained on May 12-13. All confessed to taking part in the attempted attacks under police questioning, and three alleged accomplices are still being sought, Xinhua said.

No reason was given for the delay in the announcement and no mention was made of any other evidence against the monks. Chinese police rely heavily on confessions to solve cases, a practice blamed for widespread alleged use of torture against suspects.

Police said the monks had listened to foreign radio stations and were acting on separatist propaganda issued by the “Dalai Lama clique,” the name China uses for Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader and his supporters.

The claims match China’s contention that exile forces orchestrated a series of sometimes violent anti-government protests that broke out in Tibet’s capital of Lhasa on March 14, eventually spreading to Tibetan-inhabited areas across western China.