Fresh Wave Of Bombings Kill 8, Injure 4 As China Beefs Up Security

August 10, 2008 8:37 a.m. EST

Kuqa, China (AHN) - Eight are dead after violence erupted in China's north western region of Xinjiang on Saturday with a gun battle and series of bombings, local officials said.

According to the state news agency, Xinhua, the pre-dawn attack was in Kuqa, a city in the restive Muslim region of Xinjiang that borders Afghanistan, Pakistan and a few other central Asian states.

Police said seven militants and a security guard were killed during the attack as the bombers drove a tricycle laden with explosives into the yard of a police station.

Two police officers and two civilians were also injured in the violence targeted at the local Public Security Bureau and Administration for Industry and Commerce buildings, when 12 gas-based pipe bombs exploded.

The Beijing Olympics are being held around 1,860 miles away from the site of the latest incident, where militants reportedly used homemade explosives.

Authorities have suggested that it was a possible attempt by Islamic separatist groups to divert global attention from the Beijing Olympics, the state news agency said.

Those allegations were backed by the reports that on Friday a threatening video was released indicating further attacks and advising the local minority group, Muslim Uighurs, to stay away from using public transport during the Olympics.

Uighur separatists in Kuqa county have been campaigning against Chinese control for decades and have demanded making the Xinjiang region into an autonomous area, as they call East Turkestan.

The attack occurred after security in the region was tightened following last week's attack, killing 16 people in Kashgar as two alleged jihadists rammed a truck in to a group of jogging policemen and threw handmade grenades.