Chinese Police Kill 13 Rioters Who Bombed Police Building

The Chinese police Saturday shot dead 13 rioters, who rammed a vehicle into a police office building and set off explosives, injuring three, in the western Xinjiang region.

The attackers drove a truck into the public-security bureau of the Yechen County in the southern region of the Xinjiang province after which they bombed the building, Xinhua, China’s state-owned news agency reported. The police killed 13 attackers, as Chinese officials are investigating the incident further. The clashes come as a part of increasing turmoil in the Uyghur region in the Xinjiang province, heavily populated by Muslims seeking autonomy from the ruling government.

The latest violence follows last month’s attack by rioters who bombed a market in Urumqi, Xinjiang’s capital, killing 43.

On June 16, China executed 13 people, after finding them guilty of violent attacks across the country. According to Xinhua, violence in the name of jihad have been on the rise since 2009.

Militants in the Uyghur region say that their resentment toward the government has risen due to the cultural restrictions imposed on them, while the government says that it has made high investments in the region. The government, through tougher punishments, is trying to counter the militants, who they say are reportedly trying to overthrow the current government; the government accuses them of terrorist actions in marketplaces, knife-attacks and bombings, according to Associated Press. The government also contends that the rebel groups have connections with foreign terrorist groups.