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BEIJING, June 5 (Reuters) - Chinese authorities arrested 16 people, most of them Tibetan Buddhist monks, last month for carrying out three bombings in the restive Himalayan region, the online edition of Xinhua news agency said on Thursday.

It did not give a reason for the delay in the announcement, which came after monk-led protests that turned violent in Tibet in March and spilled over into nearby Chinese provinces populated by Tibetans.

Xinhua did not say if there were any casualties from the blasts.

The report could not be independently corroborated. Foreign reporters need government permission to travel to Tibet.

The suspects admitted carrying out the bombings in Changdu prefecture in April, Xinhua said, adding that the arrests "forcefully undermined Tibetan independence elements' arrogance and effectively maintained social stability in the area", Xinhua said.

Changdu, known in Tibetan as Chamdo, is the birthplace of Tibet's governor, Qiangba Puncog, who has been on the frontline of China's struggle against the Dalai Lama and his government-in-exile in India.

China has accused followers of the Dalai Lama, the most senior figure in Tibetan Buddhism, of instigating the rioting -- the worst since 1989. The Dalai Lama denies the charge.

China says about 20 civilians were killed by mobs. The government-in-exile says more than 100 protesters were killed by Chinese troops. Hundreds of rioters have been arrested.

The Dalai Lama fled into exile in India in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Communist rule. (Reporting by Guo Shipeng and Benjamin Kang Lim; Editing by Nick Macfie and David Fogarty)

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