Word: kashgar
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...dissidents. Whatever the Chinese authorities and the International Olympic Committee might say about separating politics and sport, the Beijing Games have become the most politicized in decades. Less than five days before the flame was lit, there was a shocking attack by Muslim separatists in the city of Kashgar in China's far western Xinjiang region that left 16 policemen dead and equal number badly wounded. A few days later, a shadowy militant group calling itself the Turkestan Islamic Party issued a video asserting plans to attack the Olympics. "Do not stay on the same bus, on the same train...
...despite the unhappiness over the security measures, the recent Kashgar attack was a reminder that a grave threat does exist. And, in retrospect, it should have come as little surprise that the deadliest attempt yet to use the Games for political ends would come in Xinjiang. Around half of the population are Uighurs and the huge province, which makes up nearly one-fifth of China's landmass, shares long borders with both Afghanistan and Pakistan, home to jihadist movements such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Chinese security officials have repeatedly stated that the possibility of a terrorist attack...
...China An Extremist Strike Terrorists struck on the eve of the Beijing Olympics when two men in Kashgar, a city in western China's Xinjiang province, killed 16 policemen and wounded 16 more by ramming them with a truck and detonating homemade bombs. Officials said the attackers were Uighurs, an Islamic ethnic minority that has long bristled at China's repressive rule. The attack--perpetrated by extremists whom authorities linked to a group known to pose a threat, in a region long considered a possible target--undermined Chinese assurances that stringent security measures would safeguard the Games...
...Indeed, Kashgar seemed remarkably calm after the attack. Residents strolled past the Yijin Hotel as if nothing happened there. Children rode bicycles on sidewalks, and donkey carts pulled loads of fruit. Police checkpoints dotted some of the city's backroads, and airports and some hotels in the region had security checks at their outside entrances. Kashgar police detained and roughed up two Japanese reporters who arrived the day of the attack, according to wire reports, but by Tuesday they merely tape recorded journalists from a distance...
...said that he believed Kashgar residents were united in opposition to such violence. "Kashgar people of all ethnic groups are a strong foundation to combat East Turkestan forces," he said. He promised "a severe battle" against terrorism, and said the area's recent economic growth was a sign that the region was stable and prosperous. "We have a unitary ethnic environment and a very stable society," he said. "Even a midnight, people still have no problem strolling or jogging on the streets...