Children stabbed to death on way to school

The incident in Lingshan County, in the province of Guanxi, is the latest in a string of slashing attacks targeting schoolchildren in China over the past decade.

The county government said on its website that three children were killed instantly, with one dying later in hospital.

Officials said police were searching for a 56-year-old suspect who attacked the children from a motorcycle, but gave no other details.

China, where firearms are difficult to obtain, has seen many high-profile slashing attacks at schools over the past 10 years, prompting tightened security but little in the way of lasting policy changes.

Some cities, including Beijing, require ID and registration for the purchase of some kinds of knives.

Earlier this month, a knife attacker killed three students at a school in Hubei province.

Meanwhile, six schoolchildren have been killed in a stampede at a primary school in the southern Chinese city of Kunming.

City officials said more students from the first and second grades of Mingtong Primary School were injured.

Chinese vice premier Liu Yandong has demanded an investigation into the cause, which was not immediately clear.