China says police have shot and killed six people suspected of planning bomb attacks in the latest violence in the western region of Xinjiang.
Xinjiang's government-run Tianshan news site reported that police killed a man after he charged at them with an axe and attempted to detonate an explosive device in the town of Shule on January 12.
It said five other suspects with bombs were also shot and killed in a "clean-up operation," the online news portal said.
The suspects who were killed were not identified.
More than 400 people have been killed in over the past two years in violence the government blames on militants among Turkic, mainly Muslim Uyghurs indigenous to Xinjiang.
Uyghurs have long complained about their treatment under Chinese rule.
The ruling Communist Party tightly restricts access to the restive region, and information is difficult to independently verify.