China Executes 13 For Terror In Xinjiang

Media reports in China say 13 people have been executed for terrorism and violent crimes in the restive northwestern Xinjiang region.

The official Xinhua News Agency said in a brief report that the 13 were involved in seven cases and were executed on June 16.

Also on June 16, a court in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, sentenced seven men in a case related to a car-bomb attack in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in October that left five people dead, including the three attackers. Dozens were injured.

Authorities have blamed the attack on Islamic extremists among Xinjiang's native Turkic-speaking Uyghur population.

Meanwhile, on June 15, police in the city of Hotan in Xinjiang killed two men and captured one after the three -- armed with knives -- attacked patrons playing cards in a local game room.

No motive is known.


Based on reporting by dpa, AFP, and AP