China arrests `more terrorists` for attack in Xinjiang

Beijing: China on Monday said it has arrested `more terrorists` in the restive Xijiang province in connection with last week`s deadly attack that killed 21 people, including six militants.

Police have captured more suspected terrorists linked to an attack in Bachu County, Kashgar Prefecture China`s Vice Minister of Public Security Meng Hongwei said. Meng did not disclose the number of suspects arrested but said the police have made major progress in the investigation, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Police have tracked down a batch of homemade explosives, lethal weapons, and flags of "East Turkistan" terrorists, according to Meng. East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) which China says is linked to al-Qaeda is active in Xinjiang where the native Uygur Muslim who constitute majority were restive over the increasing settlements of Han Chinese. The incident took place when three community workers discovered people watching Jihad videos at a house there and informed the police. When the police arrived the men reportedly armed with knives, attacked and killed three community workers and a number of police officials in the melee. Later, police reinforcements which arrived there shot the suspects and brought the situation under control, it said. Besides the six suspects, the dead included ten Han Chinese, two Uygur Muslims and three Chinese Mongolians. China today held a commendation ceremony for those killed in the attack. The government has posthumously awarded the 15 individuals each as a "regional anti-terrorist hero", Xinhua report said. Seven of the 15 were also posthumously awarded as a "regional outstanding Communist Party of China members. Nur Bekri, the regional governor said at the commendation meeting that the nature of the terrorist attack was not about ethnic or religious issues, but a terrorist act to split the motherland and undermine national unity. Bekri said the terrorists carried out the attacks on victims, without sparing people of their own ethnic group. PTI