Blast wounds two outside court in Kyrgyz capital

An explosion in Kyrgyzstan’s capital on Tuesday wounded at least two people outside a sports palace where several people are standing trial accused of mass killings during an April uprising in the Central Asian republic, RBK.ru reports.

Investigators in Bishkek were trying to determine the nature of the explosive device, Alik Karimbayev, deputy head of Kyrgyzstan's Security Council, said.

The windows of the sports palace were blown out, although the building itself was not damaged.

The explosion underscores tensions in Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic that hosts U.S. and Russian military air bases, where authorities are trying to form a new government less than six months after hundreds were killed in ethnic violence.

The Health Ministry said two soldiers were wounded in Tuesday’s blast in Bishkek and had been taken to hospital.

The sports palace is hosting the trial of 22 people accused of killing dozens of people in Bishkek during a popular uprising in April that ousted the president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev.