Beijing, Aug 2 (IANS) The leaders of the group which carried out an attack that left six civilians dead in Xinjiang learned terror techniques in Pakistan, said a Chinese daily that noted the explosion sends the message that terrorism is still a threat.
An editorial in the China Daily Tuesday said the preliminary probe found that the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) was behind the explosion at the weekend that left six civilians dead and 15 wounded in Kashgar in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.
‘The leaders of the group learned terrorist techniques in ETIM camps in Pakistan before they penetrated into Xinjiang,’ it said.
The editorial noted: ‘The explosion again sends the message that terrorism is still a threat and that we must remain vigilant. Combating terrorism should be high on the agenda of our governments, especially those in border areas.’
It said that the social stability and the lives of local residents would not have been so ‘brutally disrupted’ were it not for the terrorist acts of the ETIM.
The editorial added that the National Counter-terrorism Office of China has said while the region is generally stable, ‘the `three forces’ of terrorism, separatism and extremism have been colluding with `East Turkistan’ terrorist forces both in and out of China in recent years’.
It went on to say that no leniency should be shown to separatist activities and extremist forces.
‘The government should make every effort to crack down on groups that employ terror tactics as a means to materialize their ambition of splitting a country or fanning extremist sentiments.’
