Chinese police kill 8 in Xinjiang 'terrorist attack'

Chinese police kill 8 in Xinjiang 'terrorist attack'

BEIJING: Chinese police shot dead 8 people on Monday in the border area of Kashgar trying to combat what the government described as a 'terrorist attack'. The attack happened in Yarkand county close to the old Silk Road inXinjiang's south, the regional government said in a statement on its news website. 

"The police took decisive measures, shooting dead eight and capturing one," the website statement said. 

The statement said the police opened fire after nine thugs attacked a police station in Kashgar. The thugs threw explosive devices and set police cars on fire. The incident comes on the heels of another police action killing 14 people near Kashgar in mid-December. Two police officials were killed in the clash with a "violent terror gang", which was armed with explosives, axes and knifes. 

In both cases, the government has described the attackers as terrorists but did not specifically link them to the ongoing East Turkmenistan Islamic movement, which seeks to create a separate nation out of Xinjiang. 

"Religious-political factors, especially the issue of religious politicization in Xinjiang, have had a negative impact on China's political integration," the state-run Xinjiang Daily said in an editorial. 

The paper justified the government's strong arm methods saying, "In the name of religion, 'East Turkistan' separatists are desperate to split the motherland, which is a serious political issue that demands proper and timely response from the government". 

But government officials did not specifically blame the East Turkistan movement for Monday's violence and the one that took place in mid-December. 

"This case shows once again the anti-human and anti-social nature of terrorist groups," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.