9 terror suspects shot dead in Xinjiang

Police shot dead nine suspected terrorists and captured another in Hotan Prefecture of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Friday afternoon, the regional police authority said.

The group was identified by police on July 27. Local civilians volunteered to help the police in tracking down the suspects.

At 12:15 am on Friday, locals found the suspects in a corn field in Purgakqi Township of Karakax County.

With the help of more than 30,000 volunteers, officers chased the suspects to an abandoned house, where they resisted arrest by throwing explosives into the crowd. Police fired back.

No police or civilians were injured during the incident.

The Xinjiang government launched a year-long campaign in late May after a terrorist attack in the regional capital of Urumqi killed 39 people and injured 94 others. The campaign targets terrorist suspects and extremism.

Fighting the terrorists has proved an uphill challenge however.

On Wednesday, extremists murdered the imam of China's largest mosque, Jume Tahir, in Xinjiang.

On Monday morning, dozens of Uygur and Han civilians were killed or injured in an "organized and premeditated" attack in Shache County, Kashgar Prefecture. A gang armed with knives and axes attacked a police station and government offices in Elixku Township, and some moved on to the nearby Huangdi Township, attacking civilians and smashing vehicles.

Police officers at the scene shot dead dozens of members of the mob.