MOSCOW, January 12 (Sputnik) — Six attackers were shot and killed in China’s violence-torn Xinjiang province in a security crackdown, AP reports, citing the government-run TS news website.
Monday’s clash happened after residents of a business district in the town of Shule noticed a “suspicious person” carrying an explosive device and alerted local law enforcers, who quickly arrived at the scene. No others were injured in the brief shootout. There has been no word so far about the identity of the attackers.
Xinjiang is home to the country’s nine-million-strong Turkic-speaking and mostly Muslim Uighur ethnic minority.
Violence in Xinjiang has increased over the past year, with at least 200 people killed in a series of clashes in the long-troubled region.
Beijing blames the attacks on “religious extremists”, “separatists” and “terrorists” and has responded with a series of clampdowns, arresting hundreds and executing dozens of convicted terrorists.
