Beijing: Two "suspects" allegedly involved
in recent attacks in China`s troubled Xinjiang province, were
shot dead by police near Kashgar city, where 20 people were
killed in violence blamed on militants trained in Pakistan.
Memtieli Tiliwaldi, 29 and Turson Hasan, 34, who were
wanted in connection with the case, were killed yesterday in
the corn fields in the suburb of Kashgar, local officials
said.
With their death, the number of people, including
militants, killed in the recent violence goes up to 22.
Police had issued arrest warrants for the two
yesterday and announced a reward of 100,000 yuan (USD 15,384)
for information that could lead to their arrests.
The attacks allegedly orchestrated by the East
Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) were directed against the
Han settlers from the Chinese mainland.
Xinjiang`s capital Urumqi witnessed massive riots
against Hans in 2009, that left almost 200 people dead.
In two violent incidents last weekend, 14 civilians
and six militants were killed in Kashgar, throwing the city
into panic.
On Sunday, six civilians were killed, and 15 others --
including three policemen -- were injured after attackers set
fire to a restaurant and started randomly killing civilians on
a major shopping street.
While five suspects were shot dead by police, two fled
the scene.
The Sunday attack was the second violent case in
Kashgar over the weekend after eight civilians were killed in
an attack on Saturday.
On Saturday night, two people hijacked a truck after
killing the driver and drove it into a crowded street. The
attackers then jumped out of the truck and hacked bystanders
randomly.
Eight civilians were killed while 27 others were
injured in the incident.
While one of the suspects was killed in the clash,
while the other was apprehended.
On the first day of Ramadan -- the Muslim holy month
of fasting -- most shops in the city centre where the
terrorist attack occurred remained closed, state-run Xinhua
news agency reported.
Traffic controls on main roads have been lifted, but
armed paramilitary troops and police and paramilitary cars
still patrolled the urban area.
Policemen with riot guns were seen standing guard at
the gates of bus and police stations.
"We`re all worried after the two attacks... We closed
the restaurant today and let our staff go back home," said Wu
Congkuan, a restaurant owner.
Government authorities have said that a group of
religious extremists led by militants trained in terrorist
camps in Pakistan was behind the Sunday attack on civilians.
The initial probe found that the group`s leaders had
learned how to make explosives and firearms in overseas camps
of the terrorist group East Turkistan Islamic Movement in
Pakistan before entering Xinjiang to organise terrorist
activities, the government of Kashgar City said in a
statement.
PTI
