China Now Says 50 were Killed in Xinjiang Blasts

TODAY

27 September 2014

BEIJING — Chinese state media have said that 50 people, including 40 assailants, were killed in a series of explosions over the weekend in the far-western region of Xinjiang, a much higher figure than was earlier reported, in what officials called a severe terror attack.

On Monday, the Xinjiang government’s Tianshan website had said two people had been killed on Sunday in the southern county of Luntai and referred to the incidents as “explosions”.

But Tianshan reported on Thursday that bombs exploded at two police stations, a produce market and a store. It said the attack killed two police officers, two police assistants and six bystanders and that 54 others were injured. It said police took swift action and 40 assailants were either shot dead or died in the explosions.

…Mr Rohan Gunaratna, head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, disputed the Chinese government’s claims that all violence in Xinjiang is the work of terrorists.

“Most of the incidents, including attacks, are spontaneous,” he said.

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