Seven killed in new Uighur attack

(GETTY IMAGES)

A bomb attack in China's restive Xinjiang region killed seven people and wounded 14 yesterday, and an exile group claimed victims included members of the local police force and its auxiliary unit. The attack was the deadliest violence reported in Xinjiang since bloody rioting in the regional capital of Urumqi last year that left 200 people dead.

The vast region bordering Central Asia has long been beset by ethnic conflict and separatist violence, leading to a massive and ongoing crackdown by security forces.

The blast went off after a man from the region's native Uighur ethnic group drove a three-wheeled vehicle laden with explosives into a crowd of people in a suburb in Aksu city in south-western Xinjiang, said Hou Hanmin, a spokeswoman for the regional government. "Police say it was an intentional act because the suspect was carrying explosive devices," Ms Hou said.