Two 'suspects' in Xinjiang violence killed by police in China
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.
