ID :
14906
Tue, 08/05/2008 - 14:40
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/14906
The shortlink copeid
16 police killed in 'terrorist' attack ahead of Olympics: Xinhua+
BEIJING, Aug 5 Kyodo - Security officials say terrorists are suspected of killing 16 paramilitary police officers in northwest China on Monday in an attack only days ahead of the Olympic Games, state-run media reported.
The official Xinhua News Agency, quoting unnamed police sources in the mainly Muslim region of Xinjiang, said two people drove a truck into the group of officers who were jogging outside an armed police base in Kashgar on Monday morning.
The two attackers then assaulted the officers with knives and hurled explosives into the police barracks, the report said. Sixteen officers were also injured.
Xinhua said the regional Public Security Bureau has reported that it has received intelligence that a Muslim separatist group, the East Turkistan Islamic Movement, was planning terrorist attacks in the week before the Beijing Games, which start Friday.
The two suspected terrorists accused of carrying out the attack were arrested at the base, Xinhua added, and the remains of five explosive devices were recovered.
Calls to the regional public security bureau in Xinjiang rang unanswered and the regional foreign affairs department told Kyodo News it had no information about the incident.
The Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy, which regularly reports on sensitive political issues in China, said Monday that martial law has been imposed in Kashgar after the attack, but there is no official confirmation of its claim.
Police in Xinjiang reported in July that they have broken up at least five terrorist gangs in the region in recent months which were planning attacks linked to the Games.
Xinhua quoted regional security officials as saying Monday that one plot to bring down an airliner flying from Xinjiang to Beijing in March was also masterminded by Muslim separatists.
Other alleged plots include a plan to kidnap athletes, foreign journalists and visitors to the Games.
Groups representing exiles from Xinjiang say the terrorist threat has been exaggerated by the Chinese authorities to justify tighter security measures in the region, which -- like Tibet -- has its own distinctive language, religion and culture.
U.S. President George W. Bush was criticized by the Chinese government last week when he met with several prominent Chinese civil rights activists in Washington, including Rebiya Kadeer, an exile from Xinjiang who campaigns for the rights of its Muslim majority.
The East Turkistan Islamic Movement is a Muslim separatist group that the U.S. government says has links with al-Qaida and other Islamic militant groups.
About 22 ethnic Uyghurs from Xinjiang were captured by the United States during the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan and were then held at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, although they all denied belonging to any terrorist organization.
The attack in Xinjiang comes amid a massive security operation ahead of the Olympic Games.
Nearly 100,000 police and military personnel have been deployed on counterterrorism duties.
Hundreds of road blocks have also been set up around Beijing to check for guns and explosives.
Many Chinese living in Beijing admit privately to being anxious about the forthcoming Games because of the massive coverage in state-run media about the security threat.
The official Xinhua News Agency, quoting unnamed police sources in the mainly Muslim region of Xinjiang, said two people drove a truck into the group of officers who were jogging outside an armed police base in Kashgar on Monday morning.
The two attackers then assaulted the officers with knives and hurled explosives into the police barracks, the report said. Sixteen officers were also injured.
Xinhua said the regional Public Security Bureau has reported that it has received intelligence that a Muslim separatist group, the East Turkistan Islamic Movement, was planning terrorist attacks in the week before the Beijing Games, which start Friday.
The two suspected terrorists accused of carrying out the attack were arrested at the base, Xinhua added, and the remains of five explosive devices were recovered.
Calls to the regional public security bureau in Xinjiang rang unanswered and the regional foreign affairs department told Kyodo News it had no information about the incident.
The Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy, which regularly reports on sensitive political issues in China, said Monday that martial law has been imposed in Kashgar after the attack, but there is no official confirmation of its claim.
Police in Xinjiang reported in July that they have broken up at least five terrorist gangs in the region in recent months which were planning attacks linked to the Games.
Xinhua quoted regional security officials as saying Monday that one plot to bring down an airliner flying from Xinjiang to Beijing in March was also masterminded by Muslim separatists.
Other alleged plots include a plan to kidnap athletes, foreign journalists and visitors to the Games.
Groups representing exiles from Xinjiang say the terrorist threat has been exaggerated by the Chinese authorities to justify tighter security measures in the region, which -- like Tibet -- has its own distinctive language, religion and culture.
U.S. President George W. Bush was criticized by the Chinese government last week when he met with several prominent Chinese civil rights activists in Washington, including Rebiya Kadeer, an exile from Xinjiang who campaigns for the rights of its Muslim majority.
The East Turkistan Islamic Movement is a Muslim separatist group that the U.S. government says has links with al-Qaida and other Islamic militant groups.
About 22 ethnic Uyghurs from Xinjiang were captured by the United States during the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan and were then held at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, although they all denied belonging to any terrorist organization.
The attack in Xinjiang comes amid a massive security operation ahead of the Olympic Games.
Nearly 100,000 police and military personnel have been deployed on counterterrorism duties.
Hundreds of road blocks have also been set up around Beijing to check for guns and explosives.
Many Chinese living in Beijing admit privately to being anxious about the forthcoming Games because of the massive coverage in state-run media about the security threat.
