A local official in Ili prefecture, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, has been placed under investigation for harboring an "ambiguous" attitude toward terrorist attacks, revealed an official from the region's disciplinary inspection department.

Batur Duwamet, the official under investigation, was a deputy director of the general office of Ili government.

During an online interview with news portal ts.cn Tuesday, Ma Guowei, a deputy head of the regional commission for discipline inspection of the Communist Party of China, said the probe into Duwamet was a result of a tip-off by local people.

Ma said Duwamet made public remarks that are inconsistent with the regional government's ethnic policies and held an ambiguous stance over terrorist attacks, but didn't give specific details.

"One of the major reasons for frequent terrorist attacks in southern Xinjiang is the irresponsible work style shown by a minority of officials in the face of cardinal issues of right and wrong. Some of them even show an ambiguous attitude," a local official in Xinjiang surnamed Yan told the Global Times.

According to him, some officials' dereliction of duty had led to serious consequences in the fight against terrorism. "Once we found the hideout of terrorists was where local officials had inspected several times," he said.