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Anatomy of a terrorist riot that shook Xinjiang
Source: Xinhua |
July 9, 2013, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
ANATOMY of a terrorist riot that shook Xinjiang
Editor's note:
This is the first of a two-part article by Xinhua reporters investigating the brutal riot in Xinjiang on June 26 and its causes.
MORE than one week after rioters killed 24 people in Lukqun Township in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the charred walls of a police station serve as a painful reminder of that violent morning on June 26.
Over the past week, Xinhua conducted extensive interviews with victims, witnesses, officials and experts to uncover more details of the terror attacks.
Lukqun Township in Shanshan County is well known for its abundant melon and grape production. The police station, government building and the office building of the special patrol squadron are located from west to east along the township's main artery, with stores dotting both sides of the road.
Around 6am, truck driver Liu Fei from Korla City in southern Xinjiang was awakened by outside noise. Through his windows, he saw flames spurting from the police station across the road and a chaotic scene on the crowded street.
Shortly afterward, he saw a group of people run out of the police station, wielding long knives. They jumped onto a motorized tricycle and piled into a black Volkswagen Santana sedan and rushed toward the township government building, followed by another group of shouting young people, some of them masked. What shocked Liu most was a human head in a pool of blood in the middle of the street.
The violent terrorist attack was the most severe since the July 5, 2009, riots that resulted in 197 deaths in Xinjiang's capital of Urumqi.
The police station was only the rioters' first target. They attacked the office building of the special patrol squadron, the township government building, a construction site, a private store and a beauty salon. They also set fire to multiple cars and motorcycles.
Abulimit, a retired teacher who was accustomed to rise early, was killed that day while trying to stop the rioters from attacking a pedestrian.
A security guard saw the atrocities and alerted police. He was also killed while trying to stop the rioters.
According to public security authorities, 24 people, including two females, were killed in the attack. Of the victims, 16 were ethnic Uygurs and eight were ethnic Hans. The attacks left 21 others injured.
On the afternoon when Xinhua reporters arrived at Lukqun, the wreckage of charred or damaged cars, police vehicles and motorcycles could be seen along the road and in the yards outside the targeted buildings. The shrouded bodies of some victims were lain in the backyard of the police station. A police officer told reporters that at least five victims were beheaded.
The terror attack shocked local communities, since the region of Turpan Prefecture that administers Shanshan County has witnessed fast development in recent years, and local people live a relatively well-off life. "We are living a paradise-like life. But on that day, I saw scenes of hell," said Suleyman, an ethnic Uygur who has lived in the township for more than three decades.
Police investigations suggest that the multiple attacks in Shanshan on June 26 was a premeditated and organized violent terrorist crime.
Before the violent attack, rioters had internalized religious extremism spread by foreigners, carried out secretive and illegal religious activities, watched terrorist video footage, purchased criminal tools and familiarized themselves with the environment surrounding the targets, according to police investigations.
The way the attacks were carried out and the horror the perpetrators inflicted on the public was similar to the terrorist attacks in other countries, as the perpetrators were deluded by overseas terrorist organizations who incited them to action and scouted the targets multiple times ahead of the attack.
Police have learned that a group of people headed by Ahmatniyaz Sidiq and Eli Ahmatniyaz, both from Lukqun Township, began to illegally collect and watch terrorist video footage and listen to audio programs from the terrorist East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) that spread so-called "jihad" principles.
The evidence shows that in plotting the attack, Eli Ahmatniyaz and some other members said on June 20 that they wanted to "start a 'jihad' and do something big."
Around 1am on June 26, 16 rioters gathered for a religious ritual and then they rushed to a gas station in three motorized tricycles and forced staff there to fill their cans with gas around 3am.
Around 5:50am, the rioters attacked the police station in Lukqun and the township government building, axing officers, burning buildings and crashing cars. The local government and police immediately launched counter-attacks. They killed 11 rioters and arrested four others.
Editor's note:
This is the first of a two-part article by Xinhua reporters investigating the brutal riot in Xinjiang on June 26 and its causes.
MORE than one week after rioters killed 24 people in Lukqun Township in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the charred walls of a police station serve as a painful reminder of that violent morning on June 26.
Over the past week, Xinhua conducted extensive interviews with victims, witnesses, officials and experts to uncover more details of the terror attacks.
Lukqun Township in Shanshan County is well known for its abundant melon and grape production. The police station, government building and the office building of the special patrol squadron are located from west to east along the township's main artery, with stores dotting both sides of the road.
Around 6am, truck driver Liu Fei from Korla City in southern Xinjiang was awakened by outside noise. Through his windows, he saw flames spurting from the police station across the road and a chaotic scene on the crowded street.
Shortly afterward, he saw a group of people run out of the police station, wielding long knives. They jumped onto a motorized tricycle and piled into a black Volkswagen Santana sedan and rushed toward the township government building, followed by another group of shouting young people, some of them masked. What shocked Liu most was a human head in a pool of blood in the middle of the street.
The violent terrorist attack was the most severe since the July 5, 2009, riots that resulted in 197 deaths in Xinjiang's capital of Urumqi.
The police station was only the rioters' first target. They attacked the office building of the special patrol squadron, the township government building, a construction site, a private store and a beauty salon. They also set fire to multiple cars and motorcycles.
Abulimit, a retired teacher who was accustomed to rise early, was killed that day while trying to stop the rioters from attacking a pedestrian.
A security guard saw the atrocities and alerted police. He was also killed while trying to stop the rioters.
According to public security authorities, 24 people, including two females, were killed in the attack. Of the victims, 16 were ethnic Uygurs and eight were ethnic Hans. The attacks left 21 others injured.
On the afternoon when Xinhua reporters arrived at Lukqun, the wreckage of charred or damaged cars, police vehicles and motorcycles could be seen along the road and in the yards outside the targeted buildings. The shrouded bodies of some victims were lain in the backyard of the police station. A police officer told reporters that at least five victims were beheaded.
The terror attack shocked local communities, since the region of Turpan Prefecture that administers Shanshan County has witnessed fast development in recent years, and local people live a relatively well-off life. "We are living a paradise-like life. But on that day, I saw scenes of hell," said Suleyman, an ethnic Uygur who has lived in the township for more than three decades.
Police investigations suggest that the multiple attacks in Shanshan on June 26 was a premeditated and organized violent terrorist crime.
Before the violent attack, rioters had internalized religious extremism spread by foreigners, carried out secretive and illegal religious activities, watched terrorist video footage, purchased criminal tools and familiarized themselves with the environment surrounding the targets, according to police investigations.
The way the attacks were carried out and the horror the perpetrators inflicted on the public was similar to the terrorist attacks in other countries, as the perpetrators were deluded by overseas terrorist organizations who incited them to action and scouted the targets multiple times ahead of the attack.
Police have learned that a group of people headed by Ahmatniyaz Sidiq and Eli Ahmatniyaz, both from Lukqun Township, began to illegally collect and watch terrorist video footage and listen to audio programs from the terrorist East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) that spread so-called "jihad" principles.
The evidence shows that in plotting the attack, Eli Ahmatniyaz and some other members said on June 20 that they wanted to "start a 'jihad' and do something big."
Around 1am on June 26, 16 rioters gathered for a religious ritual and then they rushed to a gas station in three motorized tricycles and forced staff there to fill their cans with gas around 3am.
Around 5:50am, the rioters attacked the police station in Lukqun and the township government building, axing officers, burning buildings and crashing cars. The local government and police immediately launched counter-attacks. They killed 11 rioters and arrested four others.
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