Security
Terrorism: Jihadist website to post video on deadly Xinjiang attacks
Dubai, 7 August (AKI) - Jihadist group, Ansar al-Jihad, has announced it will post a video relating to Monday's attacks in the restive northwestern Muslim region of Xinjiang which killed 16 policemen.
"The Ansar al-Jihad group will present attacks against the Chinese state, which is occupying the Muslim lands of Turkestan," read a banner-headline on the group's website.
"The attacks are a response to crimes committed by Chinese forces against Muslims in eastern Turkestan (Xinjiang), the headline continued.
Turkestan is another name for Xinjiang. Its population is mainly made up of Muslim Uighurs, who have a Turkic language and culture.
Uighur separatists have for decades waged a low-level campaign against Chinese rule. Residents tell foreign visitors of their unhappiness with the heavy police presence and resentment at the number of Han Chinese who have moved into mineral-rich Xinjiang.
Mosques across the province reportedly have to demonstrate their loyalty to the Communist Party. Mosque-goers are closely watched and students are banned from and sometimes imprisoned for collective displays of worship.
Monday's attack came just days ahead of the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games due to begin in the Chinese capital, Beijing later this week (photo).
The Chinese authorities have said they are certain that athletes and spectators at the Beijing Olympics will be safe.
But a leading terrorism expert, Brian Michael Jenkins, told Adnkronos International (AKI) on Tuesday that despite excellent security there is a "real" threat of a terrorist attack by al-Qaeda inspired Chinese Muslim separatist groups at the games.
Chinese officials told Jenkins during a recent visit to China that police had uncovered recent terrorist plots or "suspicious preparations," he said.
Last month a group calling itself the Turkestan Islamic Party claimed several bus bombings in Shanghai and Kunming, capital of the southwestern province of Yunnan.
In late July, US intelligence intercepted a video message from the group's self-proclaimed leader, Commander Seyfullah, claiming responsibility for several attacks and threatening the Beijing Olympics.
Entitled 'Our Blessed Jihad in Yunnan', the video was posted to several jihadist websites.
In March, the Chinese Government reported an attempt to sabotage a China Southern Airways flight by a woman who had smuggled two cans of gasoline on board and was interrupted while trying to ignite them in the plane's bathroom, Jenkins said.
The plot was reportedly connected to Islamist separatists in Xinjiang.
Later in March, the government said it had uncovered another plot by Uighur separatists to kidnap athletes and tourists at the Olympics, Jenkins said.
In January 2008, Chinese authorities arrested a group with explosives and jihadist literature which they said were planning to bomb government buildings and hotels in Shanghai during the Olympics, Jenkins told AKI.
"The Ansar al-Jihad group will present attacks against the Chinese state, which is occupying the Muslim lands of Turkestan," read a banner-headline on the group's website.
"The attacks are a response to crimes committed by Chinese forces against Muslims in eastern Turkestan (Xinjiang), the headline continued.
Turkestan is another name for Xinjiang. Its population is mainly made up of Muslim Uighurs, who have a Turkic language and culture.
Uighur separatists have for decades waged a low-level campaign against Chinese rule. Residents tell foreign visitors of their unhappiness with the heavy police presence and resentment at the number of Han Chinese who have moved into mineral-rich Xinjiang.
Mosques across the province reportedly have to demonstrate their loyalty to the Communist Party. Mosque-goers are closely watched and students are banned from and sometimes imprisoned for collective displays of worship.
Monday's attack came just days ahead of the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games due to begin in the Chinese capital, Beijing later this week (photo).
The Chinese authorities have said they are certain that athletes and spectators at the Beijing Olympics will be safe.
But a leading terrorism expert, Brian Michael Jenkins, told Adnkronos International (AKI) on Tuesday that despite excellent security there is a "real" threat of a terrorist attack by al-Qaeda inspired Chinese Muslim separatist groups at the games.
Chinese officials told Jenkins during a recent visit to China that police had uncovered recent terrorist plots or "suspicious preparations," he said.
Last month a group calling itself the Turkestan Islamic Party claimed several bus bombings in Shanghai and Kunming, capital of the southwestern province of Yunnan.
In late July, US intelligence intercepted a video message from the group's self-proclaimed leader, Commander Seyfullah, claiming responsibility for several attacks and threatening the Beijing Olympics.
Entitled 'Our Blessed Jihad in Yunnan', the video was posted to several jihadist websites.
In March, the Chinese Government reported an attempt to sabotage a China Southern Airways flight by a woman who had smuggled two cans of gasoline on board and was interrupted while trying to ignite them in the plane's bathroom, Jenkins said.
The plot was reportedly connected to Islamist separatists in Xinjiang.
Later in March, the government said it had uncovered another plot by Uighur separatists to kidnap athletes and tourists at the Olympics, Jenkins said.
In January 2008, Chinese authorities arrested a group with explosives and jihadist literature which they said were planning to bomb government buildings and hotels in Shanghai during the Olympics, Jenkins told AKI.
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