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Suspects in China Market Attack Are Identified Suspects in China Market Attack Are Identified
(35 minutes later)
BEIJING — Law enforcement officials in the western region of Xinjiang have identified five men they said were responsible for an attack on an outdoor vegetable market on Thursday that killed 43 people and injured more than 90, many of them elderly shoppers.BEIJING — Law enforcement officials in the western region of Xinjiang have identified five men they said were responsible for an attack on an outdoor vegetable market on Thursday that killed 43 people and injured more than 90, many of them elderly shoppers.
The authorities said Saturday that four of the men were killed when the two vehicles they used to mount the attack exploded in Urumqi, the regional capital. They were identified through DNA analysis. The fifth suspect was captured Thursday night after escaping to a town about 150 miles south of the city, the police said.The authorities said Saturday that four of the men were killed when the two vehicles they used to mount the attack exploded in Urumqi, the regional capital. They were identified through DNA analysis. The fifth suspect was captured Thursday night after escaping to a town about 150 miles south of the city, the police said.
The names of the five men suggested that they were members of the region’s Uighur minority, which has been implicated in an increasing number of violent attacks across the country in recent months, including a bombing at a train station in Urumqi on April 30 that killed three people, including two of the assailants, and injured 79, the authorities said.The names of the five men suggested that they were members of the region’s Uighur minority, which has been implicated in an increasing number of violent attacks across the country in recent months, including a bombing at a train station in Urumqi on April 30 that killed three people, including two of the assailants, and injured 79, the authorities said.
The police report issued Saturday said the five men responsible for the market attack were members of a “terrorist gang” from Pishan, a predominantly Uighur county in southern Xinjiang, and had been inspired by overseas jihadists. “They took part in illegal religious activities, watched and listened to terrorist violence video and audio materials,” the national broadcaster, CCTV, said on its website.The police report issued Saturday said the five men responsible for the market attack were members of a “terrorist gang” from Pishan, a predominantly Uighur county in southern Xinjiang, and had been inspired by overseas jihadists. “They took part in illegal religious activities, watched and listened to terrorist violence video and audio materials,” the national broadcaster, CCTV, said on its website.
No group has claimed responsibility for the Thursday attack; after previous violent episodes, the government has been quick to blame the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, a murky organization said to operate in Pakistan’s lawless tribal belt.No group has claimed responsibility for the Thursday attack; after previous violent episodes, the government has been quick to blame the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, a murky organization said to operate in Pakistan’s lawless tribal belt.
Some analysts have questioned the role of foreign militants in the mounting violence. Instead, they say, many of the earlier attacks that targeted police stations and government offices were probably the work of disaffected Uighurs seeking independence for Xinjiang, a geopolitically pivotal region that shares a border with several Central Asian nations, including Afghanistan, as well as Russia and Pakistan.Some analysts have questioned the role of foreign militants in the mounting violence. Instead, they say, many of the earlier attacks that targeted police stations and government offices were probably the work of disaffected Uighurs seeking independence for Xinjiang, a geopolitically pivotal region that shares a border with several Central Asian nations, including Afghanistan, as well as Russia and Pakistan.
The attack in Urumqi was among the most sophisticated and lethal to date.The attack in Urumqi was among the most sophisticated and lethal to date.
According to a bulletin posted online by the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region Public Security Bureau, the men formed a terrorist cell late last year, and over subsequent months bought two sport utility vehicles and materials to make the homemade explosive devices, which they tossed from their vehicles as they sped through the crowd. Witnesses said that the devices resembled paint cans and that many of them failed to detonate. According to a bulletin posted online by the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region Public Security Bureau, the men formed a terrorist cell late last year. Over subsequent months they bought two sport utility vehicles and materials to make the homemade explosive devices, which they tossed from their vehicles as they sped through the crowd. Witnesses said that the devices resembled paint cans and that many of them failed to detonate.
Many of the dead were struck by the two vehicles as they careened along North Park Street in the Shayibake District, an area largely populated by the city’s ethnic Han. The vehicles had no license plates, and several people say at least one of the cars flew a black banner that bore script in the Uighur language. Many of the dead were struck by the two vehicles as they careered along North Park Street in the Shayibake District, an area largely populated by the city’s ethnic Han. The vehicles had no license plates, and several people say at least one of the cars flew a black banner that bore script in the Uighur language.
The government quickly announced a yearlong “strike hard” campaign on separatist activity, augmenting the already heavy security presence put in place after ethnic rioting in 2009 killed at least 200 people. On Friday evening, the authorities shut down the city’s main arteries for a martial show of force that featured tanks, armored personnel carriers and troops, crowded into open-air vehicles, who shouted slogans about ethnic harmony. Schools, public squares and parks were ringed by soldiers with bayonet-tipped assault rifles.The government quickly announced a yearlong “strike hard” campaign on separatist activity, augmenting the already heavy security presence put in place after ethnic rioting in 2009 killed at least 200 people. On Friday evening, the authorities shut down the city’s main arteries for a martial show of force that featured tanks, armored personnel carriers and troops, crowded into open-air vehicles, who shouted slogans about ethnic harmony. Schools, public squares and parks were ringed by soldiers with bayonet-tipped assault rifles.
Wang Xunan, 30, whose family runs a bakery on the street where Thursday’s attack took place, said she was heartened by the show of force, but also worried it would drive away customers. Officials have already indicated they will discontinue the market on North Park Street, which was the last remaining open-air street market in the city. “Sure, all the security makes us feel safe, but you feel like life here has changed,” she said as a pod of armed police officers in black uniforms and riot shields stood outside her door. “You can’t even go to the park without seeing guns.” Wang Xunan, 30, whose family runs a bakery on the street where Thursday’s attack took place, said she was heartened by the show of force but also worried that it would drive away customers. Officials have already indicated that they will discontinue the market on North Park Street, which was the last remaining open-air street market in the city. “Sure, all the security makes us feel safe, but you feel like life here has changed,” she said as a pod of armed police officers in black uniforms and riot shields stood outside her door. “You can’t even go to the park without seeing guns.”
In a posting on Xinjiang Daily’s website on Saturday, Che Yuping, a top security official in the region, suggested the siege mentality would become a fixture of daily life. In a posting on Xinjiang Daily’s website on Saturday, Che Yuping, a top security official in the region, suggested that the siege mentality would become a fixture of daily life.
“We shall never show mercy or a soft hand in cracking down on terrorism and crimes,” he said. “Law enforcement agencies will kill the confidence of the enemies and keep the peace of Xinjiang.”“We shall never show mercy or a soft hand in cracking down on terrorism and crimes,” he said. “Law enforcement agencies will kill the confidence of the enemies and keep the peace of Xinjiang.”