There is no logic to terrorism

With 43 deaths and 94 injuries, the May 22 bomb attack in Urumqi has not only claimed the highest number of lives in a single attack in China, but also proven that terrorists are changing their modus operandi. From the car crash on Beijing's Tian'anmen Square in October 2013 to the violent attack at Kunming railway station in Yunnan province this March to the explosion at Urumqi railway station in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region last month, the recent terrorist attacks prove that terrorists are using deadlier techniques in order to cause the maximum damage to the people and the State.

Until a year ago, terrorists mostly targeted rural areas of Xinjiang as the violent attack in Shanshan county last June and the attacks in Bacu county in April and November last year show. But since June 2013, terrorist groups have been targeting heavily crowded areas in cities, like railway stations, markets and public squares, not only to cause heavy casualties, but also to inflict deeper psychological wound on the people.

Of course, terrorists also have political motives in selecting their targets. Terrorists carried out the attack on Tian'anmen Square to challenge the country's governance and spread terror among the people-which is exactly what terrorists have been doing across the world. Terrorist groups started targeting ordinary people after the Chinese government strengthened security measures in and around key buildings and public facilities. In the latest attack in Urumqi, they targeted a market because security was tight in and around public facilities.

Unlike the attacks in Shanshan, Bacu and Shche in Xinjiang, where the terrorists targeted local police and officials, most of the recent attacks have targeted ordinary, unguarded people, because terrorists know it is an "easier" way to cause mass casualties. But by doing so, terrorists have lost the sympathy of the few people who once saw the attacks as acts of desperation by misguided people. The mayhem and indiscriminate killing of people have also made separatists lose whatever little international support they had.

Even the United States, which used to avoid using the word "terrorism" to describe attacks in Xinjiang, condemned the latest attack soon after it was reported. Moreover, terrorists are relying more on religious extremists whose only mantra is hatred and violence, which is something Uygur and other residents of Xinjiang are fed up of.

Although lone wolf attacks have been reported from some cities abroad-for example, in Boston in April last year-repeated attacks in densely populated cities in a country like China involve a lot of preparations and technical support. Police in Urumqi have already found that a gang of five meticulously planned the attack on the market, including making explosives and selecting the target.

Similarly, Ismail Yusup, a member of East Turkestan Islamic Movement, remote-controlled the attack on Urumqi railway station on April 30 from outside China's border. It involved cooperation of ETIM and other groups to prepare the strike.

More details about the May 22 attack are awaited, but there is no doubt that there is one-possibly more than one-well-organized group that coordinates information among and mobilizes and funds terrorists. Terrorist groups in Xinjiang are as "mature" and deadly as any other in the world, so China needs to strengthen international cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

Quite a number of Uygur terrorists are active in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and even organize training camps for misguided youths in areas bordering China. Since they could organize more attacks in Xinjiang taking advantage of the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year, China has to be prepared to thwart their evil designs and protect its people.

China's efforts to rally international support will succeed because terrorism poses a threat to not only the region but also the whole world. Terrorists will not spare any country no matter how powerful it is. So, the US-led West should be clear that this enemy to China is also an enemy to the West.

Departing from their usual practice, Chinese netizens have already posted about 27,000 messages on the message board of the official micro blog of the US embassy in China, advising Washington to stop supporting separatist groups in the name of liberty and democracy. In response, the White House has called the Xinjiang attack a "violent, terrorist attack".

It seems the US has realized something that has always been obvious. We hope the US will alter its policy on terrorist groups that target Xinjiang now that it has realized the terrorists are not fighting for ethnic self-determination or religious liberty.

The author is an associate professor at the School of International Studies, Nanjing University.