Officers from the Snow Leopard Commando unit perform a drill training them to respond to a bus hijacking. The image is from a file photo taken in Beijing on May 17. [Photo / Xinhua]

URUMQI - The Snow Leopard Commando unit - China's elite counterterrorism force - has moved into southern Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to make the region more secure following a terrorist attack that occurred in the region last month, local armed police told China Daily.

The special force is being based in Aksu, about 460 km from Kashgar, where two violent attacks took place and left at least 14 people dead at the end of July, according to a spokesperson of Xinjiang People's Armed Police Force.

The spokesperson, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the Snow Leopard Commando unit is expected to carry out anti-terrorism missions in both Kashgar and Hotan, the scene of other recent violence.

The Chinese government has blamed the attacks on a group of religious extremists led by militants trained in terrorist camps in Pakistan, which boarders Xinjiang.

The unit has been deployed in part to strengthen the security measures being taken for the approaching China-Eurasia Expo, a large trade convention. That event will take place in Urumqi, capital of the region, from Sept 1 to 5, the spokesperson said.

The Snow Leopard force is a special police unit under the People's Armed Police. It is charged with combating terrorism, controlling riots, disposing of bombs, responding to hijackings and carrying out other special tasks. It was founded in 2002 and was later given many security responsibilities for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Earlier this week, Zhu Hailun, Party chief of Urumqi, called for patrol teams to be formed in more than 100 prominent communities in Urumqi to ensure the China-Eurasia Expo runs smoothly. He said the teams should be composed of more than 50 people each.

Urumqi's Tianshan district now has a patrol team that is composed of more than 7,300 community workers and volunteers and led by 300 police officers. The district was the place hit hardest by a deadly riot in 2009, which left people 197 dead.

"The main task for these patrol teams is to make people feel safe and spot security flaws on the streets ... that police usually neglect," Yao Gang, deputy director of the district's politics and law committee, told China Daily on Friday.

The district has also established a system to reward those who provide valuable information about illegal activities, Yao said. Yuyuan community was rewarded 100,000 yuan ($15,650) for providing a tip in early July about a workshop where explosives were possibly being made.

Zhang Chunxian, Party chief of Xinjiang, said the attacks in Kashgar should lead to a strengthening of social management and control.

"Strong and effective measures should be taken to prevent more terror attacks and to guarantee people's safety, their assets and the stability of the region," he said.

Xinjiang residents should stay vigilant and recognize that terrorists are the "common enemies of all ethnic groups", Zhang said.