Xinjiang ax attacker says he was persuaded to carry out ‘holy war’
Print Edition
A MAN who attacked people playing mahjong in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region a week ago said he had been influenced by other gang members to carry out a “holy war.”
Religious extremists have been blamed for a spate of attacks on civilians, including a market bombing last month that killed 43 people in Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi.
Murzahti, 19, was one of three people who, armed with axes, entered a games room in Hotan Prefecture only to find the players fighting back, beating them with sticks and shovels and throwing chairs and tables.
His fellow gang members, Abduzahir and Abdughappar, were so badly injured they died later in hospital. Murzahti escaped with a head wound that required stitches.
In an interview with China Central Television at the weekend, he expressed his sorrow at being part of the attack and his gratitude to the police who saved his life.
Murzahti told CCTV he and his accomplices surveyed the games room from the outside before staging the attack on June 14. “We thought it was an easy target to kill and run,” he said. “I was scared when people fought back. I didn’t expect them to fight back.”
“I was really frightened. People lifted up chairs and tables and threw them at us,” he said.
Overwhelmed, the three tried to escape but when they rushed outside they found their way barred. “Outside the house, we found them rushing at us with sticks,” he said.
“When we tried to run, more people ran toward us with sticks. I thought we had no chance to escape.”
Armed police, who were patrolling the area, were quickly at the scene.
The three kept hacking at people with their axes but were eventually subdued by police and members of the public.
Four civilians were injured but not seriously, police said.
Murzahti said he felt so lucky to be caught by police. “Now I am still alive. If I can be freed, I will never do it again. I will take care of my parents at home,” he said.
Police said the three, who they described as religious extremists, had been influenced by jihad, or “holy war,” propaganda and believed their lives would be fulfilled by killing others.
Murzahti said Abduzahir, who police said was the ringleader, said to him: “Those who wage a holy war and die for it will not be judged after his death and will go directly to heaven.”
He said Abduzahir told him to hack at whoever he saw.
CCTV showed video footage of Murzahti waving an axe at a woman in the games room during the June 14 attack.
He admitted he had little knowledge about Islam or the meaning of jihad. “I just listened to them and hacked people.
“I was so sorry. I just wanted to say sorry,” he said.
On Saturday, police in Kashgar in Xinjiang’s southwest shot dead 13 assailants who rammed a truck into a police office building and set off explosives. Three police officers were wounded.
After the bombing in Urumqi on May 22, China launched a yearlong campaign against terrorists, extremists and separatists.
Members of the public have been doing their bit.
Their tip-offs have resulted in the arrest of 60 suspects and the seizure of 160 explosive devices, Xinjiang’s public security department said.
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