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July 1, 2013

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Xinjiang police capture last man in terrorist attack

POLICE in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have captured a man who has been on the run since a terrorist attack last Wednesday which led to the deaths of 35 people, 11 of them rioters.

Yiblayan Eli was one of the 17-member gang behind the attack in Lukqun Township in the region's Turpan Prefecture, Xinjiang police said in a statement yesterday.

The gang, formed by religious extremists and led by Ahmatniyaz Sidiq, had raised funds, purchased knives and gasoline and researched sites since the middle of June to prepare for the attack, the statement said.

Police said the gang regularly listened to recordings promoting violence and terrorism before the attack.

Fearing their plot might be uncovered after one of the gang was arrested last Tuesday, the 16 other members of the gang went on the rampage on Wednesday morning, attacking the township's police stations, a local government building, a construction site, a private store and a hair salon, as well as setting fire to police cars.

A total of 24 people, including two police officers, were killed by the knife-wielding rioters. Among the victims, 16 were from the Uygur ethnic group. Twenty-one police officers and civilians were also injured in the attack.

Police shot and killed 11 rioters and captured another four who were injured at the scene, while Yiblayan Eli managed to escape.

Following the attack, more than 100 knife-wielding people riding motorbikes attempted to storm a police station in Karakax County in southern Xinjiang's Hotan region on Friday.

On the same day, an armed mob staged an attack in the township of Hanairike, according to the Xinjiang regional government's news portal.

The recent wave of violence began with a deadly clash on April 23 in Bachu County, Kashgar Prefecture, that left 21 people dead, including police officers and local government officials. The violence broke out after neighborhood security inspectors uncovered a bomb-making ring that was planning a major attack in the city of Kashgar.

In that and other incidents, police said the attackers were inspired by jihadist teachings and literature smuggled into the country or downloaded from the Internet.



 

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