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Eight suspects killed as violence escalates in Xinjiang
The escalating violence in the tense western China region of Xinjiang spiked sharply Sunday morning when eight suspects were killed by the police after a daring series of bomb attacks that began with a predawn assault against a police station, state media reported.The spate of incidents comes as the Chinese authorities have accused the East Turkestan Independence Movement, or ETIM, of trying to wage terror attacks against the Olympics. ETIM is listed by the Chinese government and the U.S. State Department as a terrorist group, though some specialists on Xinjiang question the scope and potency of the group. Some human rights groups accuse the Chinese government of exaggerating the threat in an effort to justify their crackdown in the region against Uighurs. More recently, an obscure militant group, the Turkestan Islamic Party, has released videos claiming responsibility for recent bus bombings in southwestern China and has threatened to wage attacks against the Beijing Olympics. Last week, IntelCenter, a private U.S. group that monitors terrorism, concluded that this group was the same as ETIM. The violence Sunday erupted in Kuqa, a county of 400,000 people in the southern expanse of Xinjiang. None of the details could be independently confirmed, though witnesses in Kuqa told news agencies of hearing explosions Sunday morning. In all, the authorities say 12 explosive devices were detonated in attacks against at least four local government buildings, state media reported. "I heard some bombs, and then I heard some machine guns," a Western tourist in Kuqa told The Associated Press. "The bombs sounded like thunder far away." Xinhua, the country's official news agency, described a series of attacks that began at 2:30 a.m. when a vehicle was driven into the yard outside a public security bureau and exploded. A security guard was killed and two police officers and two civilians were injured, Xinhua reported. Police officers returned fire, shooting and killing one suspect and capturing another one, as one assailant reportedly committed suicide. Roughly six hours later, assailants began hurling homemade bombs at different government buildings in Kuqa, Xinhua reported. The police shot dead two more attackers and said three others committed suicide. One captured suspect told the police that 15 people were involved in the attack. Investigators told Xinhua that the explosives were made of bent pipes, gas canisters and liquid gas tanks. The police also seized a taxi that the group was using for their attacks. The local authorities cordoned off the city and shut down business and government institutions. The police detained an AP reporter and a photographer who were working outside the security perimeter near the scene. They reported seeing a burned out storefront from one explosion and a three-wheeled vehicle parked in front of the store that was completely charred. "This doesn't usually happen," one local resident told the AP. "It's happening now because of the Olympics, but I don't know who is doing it." A group of South Korean tourists and other visitors were said to be trapped in the city. More about ETIM at link Posted by: ryuge 2008-08-10 |
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