Two suspects, one citizen killed in Xinjiang attack

Crowds of people gather at an entrance to the south railway station of Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, after an explosion on April 30. People in the square in front of the station and nearby were evacuated following the blast, and police cordoned off all entrances to the square of the station. [Photo by Gao Bo/China Daily]

Two suspects and a citizen were killed in Wednesday's railway station terror attack in the regional capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, police said Thursday.

An investigation showed one of the two suspects was Sedirdin Sawut, a 39-year-old man from Xayar County, Aksu in southern Xinjiang.

The two have long been involved in religious extremism. At 7:10 p.m. Wednesday, they stabbed people with knives and set off explosives at the exit of Urumqi south railway station.

The two suspects were killed by the explosion. An innocent citizen also died and 79 others were injured in the attack.

Some of the injured have been discharged from hospital. Local public order is normal.

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged "decisive actions" against violent terrorist attacks after the blast.

"The battle to combat violence and terrorism will not allow even a moment of slackness, and decisive actions must be taken to resolutely suppress the terrorists' rampant momentum," Xi said.

During an inspection tour to Xinjiang which ended on Wednesday, Xi said safeguarding the country's unity and fighting separatism are of the upmost importance and in the basic interests of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang.

While fighting terrorism, China will deploy a "strike-first" strategy against terrorists in this region to deter enemies and inspire people, he said.

ACCOUNTS OF VICTIMS AND WITNESSES

A Nan-bread vendor told Xinhua that he heard two huge sounds of blast.

"The explosion was so powerful that I thought it was an earthquake," a man at a nearby hotel told Xinhua.

The injured sent to Xinjiang Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital and Xinjiang People's Hospital, both about four kilometers from the station, according to the railway station police.

Zhang Bin was picking up friend at the exit, when all of a sudden, he heard a bang and tumbled on the ground, he told Xinhua in hospital.

He struggled to stand up and found many others fall down. With bleeding left arm and injured hip, he rushed out with the crowd and called his family before He was sent to the Xinjiang Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital.

"I've never expected such a thing could happen to me. If this was deliberate, I can't understand why they hurt innocent civilians? " said Zhang.

Zhang shared the ward with another two injured, a 24-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman.

The young man, obviously still gripped by fear, told Xinhua that he could barely remember what had happened in the station.

In another ward, a policeman was inquiring another injured and taking notes, while five of his colleagues guarded outside.

HIGH ALERT ON TERRORISM

Terrorist attacks have increased in Xinjiang in recent years and have targeted places outside Xinjiang.

On March 1, knife-wielding assailants killed 29 civilians and injured another 143 at a railway station in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming in March. Evidence linked the attack to separatists from Xinjiang.

Xinjiang was also hit by violent terrorist attacks in the past year. In an incident last June, rioters killed 24 people at the region's Lukqun Township.

During an inspection tour to Xinjiang which ended on Wednesday, President Xi Jinping said that long-term stability in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is vital to the whole country's stability and national security.

"The long-term stability of Xinjiang is vital to the whole country's reform, development and stability; to the country's unity, ethnic harmony and national security as well as to the great revival of the Chinese nation," Xi said when meeting with local Party and government officials.