BEIJING
Police shot dead six suspects armed with explosive devices in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region Monday morning, according to the country’s state news agency.
Xinhua cited local authorities as saying that residents of a commercial district in Shule County had seen a bomb-wielding suspect around 10.10 a.m. (04.10 a.m. GMT).
The suspect was reportedly killed by police after he attacked them with a hatchet and attempted to detonate the device.
In the meantime, five other attackers were also shot dead while trying to set off explosives attached to their bodies.
No casualties were reported among the police or residents. There was no explanation as to where the five other attackers emerged from.
Xinhua reported that a minibus with explosive devices was also seen at the site of the incident.
A yearlong "anti-terrorism’’ campaign -- focusing on Xinjiang, home Uighur Muslims -- was launched by China’s central government May 23 and will be in effect until June 2015.
Uighur, a Turkic group which constitutes around 45 percent of the population of Xinjiang, have accused China of carrying out repressive policies that restrain their religious, commercial and cultural activities.
