The Hindu : Front Page : Border police officers attacked in China, 16 killed

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Tuesday, Aug 05, 2008
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Border police officers attacked in China, 16 killed

Pallavi Aiyar

Beijing: With only four days to go for the Olympic Games opening ceremony, China has reported its deadliest attack against security forces in recent memory.

Around 8:00 a.m. on Monday, 16 policemen were killed and as many injured in the city of Kashgar when assailants attacked them with grenades and knives, according to the official news agency, Xinhua.

Xinhua reported that two men drove a truck into a group of border police officers who were doing physical exercises near a police station. “The two attackers got off the lorry after the vehicle veered to hit on a roadside wire pole,” said the report. “They hurled two grenades at the barracks, causing an explosion. They also hacked the policemen with knives.”

Local police said the assault was a “suspected terrorist attack.” Two persons have been arrested in connection with the incident.

The market city of Kashgar is located in China’s far western Xinjiang province. This is an area that is largely populated by a people of Turkic ethnicity, known as Uighurs. Elements within the Uighur population have been waging a low-intensity struggle to demand an independent homeland called “East Turkestan.”

In the run-up to the Olympics, the authorities have identified the Uighurs as a focus of strict nationwide security. In the first half of this year, 82 people were arrested in the restive province in connection with terrorist plots aimed at the Olympics, according to the police.

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