Dozens killed in Xinjiang attacks
DOZENS of civilians were killed or injured in a terrorist attack early Monday morning in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, police in Kashgar Prefecture’s Shache County said yesterday.
A gang armed with knives and axes attacked a police station and government offices in Elixku Township, and some moved on to the nearby Huangdi Township, attacking civilians and smashing vehicles as they went. Dozens of Uygur and Han civilians were killed or injured, police said.
Police officers at the scene shot dead dozens of members of the mob.
Thirty-one cars were vandalized, including six which had been set on fire.
An initial investigation indicated it was an “organized and premeditated” attack, according to local police, and a further investigation is under way.
The attack came just one day ahead of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, the holiest month for Muslims.
The festival is one observed in peace, with an emphasis on spiritual reflection and improvement.
Shache witnessed a terror attack on December 30, 2013, when nine terrorists wielding knives attacked a police station. They threw explosives and set police cars on fire. Police shot dead eight of the gang.
There have been an increasing number of terror attacks in Xinjiang in recent months launched by Islamist militants or separatists.
One of the most shocking incidents was a market attack in Xinjiang’s capital of Urumqi on May 29 in which 39 people were killed and 94 others were injured.
In March, knife-wielding assailants from Xinjiang launched a deadly rampage at a train station at Kunming in China’s southwest, killing 29 people.
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