Police patrols the street in Pishan county, Hotan Prefecture after a group of "violent terrorists" kidnapped two hostages in the mountainous areas of Pishan. Photo: p358.com
Analysts urged authorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to adopt a routine anti-terrorism mechanism after the local government confirmed Thursday the death of seven kidnappers and a police officer.
A group of "violent terrorists" kidnapped two hostages in the southern mountainous areas of Pishan county, Hotan Prefecture, at around 11 pm Wednesday. Police opened fire after the kidnappers resisted, killing seven of them, injuring four and detaining another four, the regional government said.
One police officer was killed and another was injured. The two hostages were rescued successfully.
A local official told the Global Times on condition of anonymity that the 15 kidnappers tried to cross into Central Asia to receive jihadist training, but lost their way near Pishan, which borders the Kashmir region.
They then seized two local herdsmen who were looking for lost sheep and forced them to lead the way. The herdsmen escaped and contacted local police.
Hou Hanmin, publicity director of the Xinjiang government, confirmed the herdsmen's story with the Global Times, adding that the kidnappers are all from ethnic minorities, without specifying which group they belong to.
Xinjiang has seen several similar terrorist attacks this year.
On July 18, a mob wielding axes and knives and carrying explosive equipment stormed into a police station in Hotan. Fourteen attackers were killed by police in the ensuing clash.
Days after the assault, two public attacks occurred in Kashi, leaving 13 people dead and over 40 wounded.
"It is hard to tell if Wednesday's case was a terrorist attack related to the previous two in Hotan and Kashi," Wang Xinjian, an expert on anti-terrorism at the Chinese People's Public Security University, told the Global Times. "The conclusion can only be drawn after the investigation result is released."
"The timing of the attack showed that the terrorists wanted to cause large scale casualties and fear ahead of the New Year and Spring Festival holidays," Wang said.
Pishan, in the south of Xinjiang, is predominantly populated by Uyghurs, while Han people account for less than 2 percent of the local population.
Police reported another kidnapping earlier this month in Pishan in which the perpetrators kidnapped and brutally murdered an Uyghur man for drinking alcohol, an act forbidden for Muslims.
"Uyghurs traditionally practice a moderate form of Islam, but security experts said recent violence shows that marks of religious extremism are on the rise," the Xinhua News Agency commented.
"The trend, if unchecked, could lead to more bloodshed as extremists are becoming bolder, and their attacks more brutal," it said.
Li Wei, director of the anti-terrorism research center under the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times that terrorist acts masterminded by overseas forces are a prominent trend in Xinjiang.
"Such terrorist acts are likely to continue troubling the region for a period of time. Some overseas terrorist forces are taking advantage of the Internet to coordinate attacks in Xinjiang and spread inflammatory comments, which should be paid attention to," Li warned.
"Authorities should adopt a mode combining early warnings and care to cope with such attacks. Terrorist activities are covert, unpredictable and uncertain, so anti-terrorism work should be listed as routine work," Li said.
Zhang Chunxian, secretary of the Xinjiang regional committee of the Communist Party of China, vowed to strengthen the crackdown on religious extremism in the region during a conference last Saturday.
Zhang said that Xinjiang is generally stable but the basis of this stability is fragile and the situation in some key areas is still harsh and complicated.
Meanwhile, Li rejected an AFP report that cited the World Uyghur Congress as saying that Wednesday's incident was "a protest by local Uyghurs prompted by mounting discontent over a police crackdown and religious repression in the area."
"Those terrorists cannot represent ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, and their violent acts do not equate to ethnic problems. They are not the mainstream there," Li said.
Aqsu-born businessman An Shiying acknowledged the timely release of information by Xinjiang authorities in the wake of the incident, saying a quick government response would help quell public concerns.
"Foreign media used to be the only source of information on previous terrorist attacks in Xinjiang. But that's been changed, and that's why I'm keeping my business here," he told the Global Times.
Liu Linlin and agencies contributed to this story