Police shot dead 14 terrorists in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Sunday night when the police came under attack during hunt for a criminal suspect, local police said.
An initial probe showed the assailants were from a 20-member terrorist group led by Hasan Ismail. Formed in August, the gang had been promoting religious extremist ideas and making explosives and firearms for planned terrorist attacks, a Xinjiang police official told Xinhua.
They attacked police who were searching for Hasan Ismail at a village of Shufu County, Kashgar Prefecture, at around 11 p.m., using explosive devices and knives, the official said.
Two policemen died in the attack, and six suspects have been captured.Police shot dead 14 terrorists in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Sunday night when the police came under attack during hunt for criminal suspects, said local police.
Shufu County police were carrying out search for the criminal suspects at a village of Shufu County, Kashgar Prefecture, around 11 p.m. when some gangsters threw explosive devices at them and attacked them with knives, sources with the police said.
The police fought back and shot dead 14 terrorists and captured two criminal suspects. Two policemen died in the attack, said the sources.
A further investigation into the case is under way