GRAND MOSQUE: A brick mosque in the ancient Kuqa City, which was first built in the 15th century and rebuilt in 1931.(GAO CHANGYUE)

A series of terrorist attacks rocked Kuqa in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on August 10, leaving 12 people dead and four injured. Among the dead were one civilian, one policeman and two terrorists who blew themselves up. Eight other terrorists were shot dead by police, two were arrested and three remained on the run on August 11. Police also seized dozens of unexploded bombs.

According to an August 11 report on the website of People's Daily, the bombings started at around 2:30 a.m. and more than 10 places were attacked. Most were public venues or government buildings. The report said terrorists threw explosives at buildings from taxis and witnesses recalled waves of deafening explosions, fires and intermittent gunfire. At a press conference on August 11 Hasimu, head of the Aksu Prefectural Government, which administers Kuqa, said, "Unlike previous terrorist activities in Xinjiang, there was suicidal bombing in these attacks."

In one attack, two terrorists drove into a police compound on an auto rickshaw before igniting a gas tank on board. The explosion destroyed two police vehicles, killed one guard and injured a policeman. The two terrorists also died in the bombing.

The attacks lasted less than two hours and social order was restored by 7 p.m. on August 10, according to Xinhua.

A day after the terrorist attacks, 40 journalists from home and abroad visited a number of the attack sites.

The East Turkistan Islamic Movement has been suspected responsible for recent terrorist attacks in Xinjiang, said Qin Gang, Foreign Ministry spokesman, when replying to questions about these attacks at a press conference on August 13. A gun and explosives used in an assault on border police in Kashi, Xinjiang, on August 4, which left 16 policemen dead and 16 others injured, were similar to those used by East Turkistan terrorists, the Xinjiang police authority told Xinhua on August 5.

The attack in Kashi occurred in front of a hotel less than 200 meters from the Kashi border armed police division, according to Xinhua. Two attackers drove a tip lorry into a team of policemen on morning exercise. After the lorry hit a telegraph pole, the terrorists got out and threw explosives at the policemen before attacking them with knives. The two men, both locals, were caught at the scene.

Kuqa is about 750 kg southwest of the regional capital Urumqi. It has a population of about 500,000, of whom 80 percent are from 21 ethnic minority groups. It is one of the most developed areas of Xinjiang and an important gas source for China's natural gas pipeline that runs from the country's west to east. A trade hub in ancient China, Kuqa used to be an important point on the famous Silk Road.