Western China Violence Far from Olympics

Associated Press

August 10, 2008

CBNNews.com - Xinjiang, China - Assailants using homemade bombs launched a series of attacks and engaged police in a deadly battle on Sunday in a western Chinese city far from the Beijing Olympics, state media said.

At least seven attackers and one security guard were killed.

The pre-dawn violence in the restive Muslim region of Xinjiang came despite tightened security for the games and followed threats by an al-Qaida-linked militant Islamic group to disrupt the sporting event.

The official Xinhua News Agency, citing local police, said one explosion occurred at government buildings in Kuqa county in the early hours of Sunday.

Xinhua described the attackers as suicide bombers who used devices made from bent pipes, gas canisters and liquid gas tanks.

Hong Kong's ATV footage on Sunday showed closed gas stations and security checks on the way to Kuqa.

Drivers needed to show their license to get to Kuqa.

One man said the recent unrest had hurt the area, especially with investment in the region.

"I feel like, these kind of things happen too much and surely affects badly." "The people in the rest of China come to Xinjiang for investment or for tourism."

In what appeared to be the largest attack, Xinhua said assailants drove a three-wheeled vehicle carrying explosives into the compound of the public security bureau at about 2:30 a.m.

An explosion followed that killed a security guard, injured two police and two civilians, and destroyed two police cars.

Police opened fire on the attackers, killing one.

Another blew himself up, injuring a third, and a fourth was captured, Xinhua said, citing an unidentified local government spokesman.

Six hours later, a battle broke out in a nearby market where police found five attackers hiding under a counter, Xinhua said.

The men hurled bombs at the police, who fatally shot two of them, while the remaining three killed themselves with their own bombs, the news agency said.

Xinhua said the captured suspect told police that 15 people were involved in the attack.

Police also seized a taxi used by the bombers, it said.

Security Even Tighter

The already-tight security in Xinjiang was increased in the past week after assailants killed 16 border police and wounded 16 others in Kashgar city on Aug. 4, ramming a stolen truck into the group before tossing homemade bombs and stabbing them.

The attacks mark a dramatic increase in violence in Xinjiang, where local Muslims have waged a sputtering rebellion against Chinese rule.

Heavy security had largely succeeded in suppressing violence over the past decade.

Authorities shut down Kuqa county, a region 1,740 miles west of Beijing where some 400-thousand people live, for most of the day.

Soldiers with machine guns patrolled the streets and people were told not to leave their homes.

A Foreign Ministry official in Beijing, speaking on customary condition of anonymity, said the restrictions were akin to martial law.

Police picked up an Associated Press reporter and photographer while they were reporting on Sunday near the scene and drove them to a hotel, telling them they could not leave.

On the way to the hotel, they saw one of the explosion sites: a storefront in a line of shops was burnt out, and a three-wheeled vehicle parked in front of the store was completely charred.

After several hours, people were allowed to go back into the streets, though most shops stayed closed.

Ties to Other Violence in China?

The latest violence came a day after two Americans closely linked to the US Olympic volleyball team were stabbed, one fatally, in Beijing on the first day of the games.

On Thursday, a video purportedly made by the Turkestan Islamic Party was released in which the militant group threatened to attack buses, trains and planes during the two-week Olympic competition.

The group wants independence for Xinjiang and is believed to be based in Pakistan, where security experts say core members received training from al-Qaida.

Xinjiang is home to the Uighurs, an 8 million-strong Muslim minority with a long history of tense relations with the Chinese.

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