China police kill 7 hostage-takers in Xinjiang

China said Thursday police killed seven "terrorists" who took hostages in the nation's restive Xinjiang region during a rescue operation that left one police officer dead. The incident is the latest reported violent confrontation in the region -- home to roughly nine million Turkic-speaking Uighurs who have long bristled under Chinese rule -- since three deadly attacks in July left dozens dead. The Xinjiang government said on its official Twitter-like weibo account that a "violent terrorist group" kidnapped two people in the northwestern region's Pishan county late Wednesday night, prompting a stand-off with police. During the stand-off in Pishan, in southern Xinjiang, the kidnappers killed one police officer and wounded another. Police opened fire and killed seven of the suspects, and wounded and arrested four others, it added. The two hostages were subsequently rescued, it said, without providing further details. It was unclear whether the kidnappers involved in the latest incident were Uighurs. Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the World Uighur Congress, an exile group, described the incident as a confrontation between Uighurs and local police prompted by mounting discontent over what he said was government repression. "It was a form of protest, because they have no other way to express their unhappiness," he told AFP. "The local government recently started a 'strike hard' campaign, which resulted in the disappearances of several people. They were taken away by armed forces, who refused to say where they were," he added. "The local government has also restricted local religious activities." Police in Pishan refused to comment when contacted by AFP, and the local government was not immediately available for comment. Xinjiang -- a resource-rich region that borders eight countries -- has been the scene of sporadic bouts of violence, much of which has been blamed by Beijing on the "three forces" of extremism, separatism and terrorism. But some experts doubt terror cells operate in Xinjiang, where Uighurs practice a moderate form of Islam, and say the violence stems from discontent among Uighurs -- many of whom accuse authorities of religious and political repression. In July, Xinjiang was hit by three deadly assaults that left dozens of people dead and prompted authorities to dispatch an elite police counter-terrorism unit to the region in a fresh crackdown. The first assault took place on July 18 on a police station in the remote city of Hotan, near Pishan, which authorities called a "terrorist attack" that left four dead including a security officer. Exiled activists however say 20 Uighur protesters were killed in the clash, which they called an outburst of anger by ordinary members of the minority. The other attacks happened in the ancient Silk Road city of Kashgar less than two weeks later. Seven people were killed on July 30 and another 28 injured when two attackers with knives struck at a food street in the city, according to authorities. A day later six people were killed in another attack, two in a restaurant and four outside, with another 12 civilians and three police wounded. Six attackers were also shot dead by security forces. Four Uighurs were subsequently sentenced to death for their role in the July attacks, and two others were jailed for 19 years.