Dozens dead in Xinjiang attack
July 29, 2014
On Tuesday Chinese media reported fatal clashes between police and an armed mob. The incident had taken place the previous day with an attack on a police station in Elixku in Shache county.
The violence, which is being blamed on militants, unfolded after the mob moved to the nearby town of Huangdi, where they attacked civilians and set fire to vehicles.
"Initial investigation showed that it was a premeditated terror attack," reported Chinese news agency Xinjiang.
Police responded to the knife-wielding mob with gunfire leaving dozens dead.
An exact death toll has not yet been confirmed.
The area of Xinjiang has faced an increase in violence in recent months, which the Chinese government blames on Islamist militants or separatists, who they say are determined on forming an independent state called East Turkestan.
A fatal rampage of more armed assailants at a southwest China train station in Kunming in March left 29 dead, with another 39 killed in a market attack in Xinjiang's capital Urumqi in May.
kb/kms (AP, Reuters)