1.8 tons of explosive material seized in Xinjiang

A screen grab from Xinjiang Satellite Television, May 27, showing Police in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region caughting suspects in a raid.[Photo/Xinjiang Satellite Television]

URUMQI-- Police in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region have seized 1.8 tons of material for explosive devices and caught five suspects in a raid, the regional publicity department said Tuesday.

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An alleged terror and extremist group led by Abliz Dawut was busted by police in south Xinjiang's Hotan Prefecture on Monday, the statement from the department said.

Suspects allegedly watched and listened to terror videos and audio and collected material to make explosive devices. The devices were hidden in Hotan.

Abliz and his gang members are suspected of making detonation devices the night after the terror attack on a market in Urumqi on May 22 and premeditating a similar terror attack in crowded locations in Hotan Prefecture, the statement said.

Similar raids were carried out in Aksu, Kashgar and Ili prefectures on Monday, leading to the arrest of a group of suspects allegedly involved in terrorist attacks, the spreading of terror videos and audio, illegal production of explosives and illegal immigration.

Twenty-three terror and religious extremism groups were busted and more than 200 suspects were caught in May in south Xinjiang's Hotan, Kashgar and Aksu prefectures, the regional public security department said on Sunday.

In 2013, the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), listed by the United Nations Security Council as a terrorist group, produced 107 terror videos and audio files, some of which were spread to China, according to Nuriman Rozi, a senior police officer with the regional public security department.

Many of the terror suspects caught in recent years were instigated by the terror videos and audio to carry out terrorist activities, he said.

Xinjiang started a one-year campaign against terrorist violence on Friday. The campaign will last until June 2015 with Xinjiang as the major battleground.

The region saw its bloodiest day in five years on Thursday when 39 innocent people were killed in a terrorist attack.

The campaign will focus on terrorists and religious extremist groups, gun and explosive manufacturing dens and terrorist training camps.

Legal, procuratorial and public security authorities in Xinjiang issued a joint statement on Saturday, calling for criminals who are involved in terrorist activities to surrender for lenient punishments.

The statement forbids people to organize, lead or join any terrorist groups. It bans people from implementing or instigating terrorist violence. It also prohibits people from directly or indirectly funding, supporting or harboring terrorist activities, terrorist organizations and terrorists.

The statement also bans people from manufacturing, trading, transporting, publicizing, copying and possessing propaganda materials with terrorist violence and religious extremist content.

Manufacturing, trading, transporting, storing and holding guns, ammunition, flammable and combustible materials as well as knives under strict control are also prohibited.