Chinese authorities are accusing what they describe as Muslim "religious extremists," led by people "trained in overseas terrorist camps," including in Pakistan, of responsibility for deadly violence in China's western Xinjiang region.
At least 18 people were reported killed in two incidents of clashes in Kashgar city over the weekend.
The state-run Xinhua news agency, citing a statement from the Kashgar government, said an initial police investigation found that the leaders of the group allegedly behind the violence had learned about explosives and firearms in Pakistan at a camp of the separatist "East Turkestan Islamic Movement."
Ethnic tensions have been high in Xinjiang for years.
Nearly 200 people were reported killed in clashes there in 2009 in fighting in Urumqi between Muslim Uyghurs and Han Chinese.
compiled from agency reports