Authorities focus on East Turkestan terrorist group

Police in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region said they have targeted a terrorist cell led by Abudulrehman Abudulkerep, who has connections with leaders of the overseas East Turkestan Islamic Movement and jihadist groups in Syria.

The East Turkestan Islamic Movement is a terrorist organization that seeks the secession of Xinjiang from China.

Abudulrehman claims that the terrorist group designated him its leader in Moyu county and demanded that others obey his orders. After receiving orders from the group's overseas leaders in mid-June, Abudulrehman told members of the terror cell to wage holy war and kill infidels.

The police investigation team said the cell then planned attacks on police stations, village authorities and even kindergartens. The cell members have been digging tunnels in members' houses to hide large quantities of explosives and jihadist flags.

Abudulrehman also attempted to transport the cell's members to join the jihad in Syria via Guangzhou, Vietnam and Malaysia.

On June 23, police uncovered information that led them to the cell in a village in Puqiakeqi township. One of the members was shot. Six days later, two other members attacked police officers who had stopped them for routine inspections. Police tracked down the cell members the next day and shot them dead in a cornfield. Another member of the cell fled but was chased and captured by other villagers.

China's special envoy for the Middle East, Wu Sike, said on July 28 that Muslim extremists from Xinjiang had traveled to the Middle East for training, and some may have crossed into Iraq to take part in the ongoing violence there.

Wu said China is worried about the role of extremist groups in the fighting in Syria and Iraq.

"Several hot-spot issues in the Middle East have provided living space for terrorist groups. In particular, the crisis in Syria has turned that country into a training ground for extremists from many countries," he said.

"These extremists come from Islamic countries, Europe, North America and China. After being immersed in extremist ideas, when they return home they will pose a severe challenge and security risk to those countries," added Wu.

He did not give detailed information on how many Chinese citizens may be in the Middle East for fighting or training, saying that he understood from foreign media reports that the number is about 100.

"Mostly they are East Turkestan elements," Wu said.

China's Guangming Daily reported in June on the involvement of ethnic Uygur terrorists in the ongoing Syrian civil war.

All the terrorists are members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, the newspaper quoted a report by Israel's Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center as saying.