2011 Kashgar attacks

2011 Kashgar attacks
Part of Xinjiang conflict
Kashgar is located in the northeast part of Kashgar Prefecture.
Location	Kashgar, Xinjiang, China
Date	July 30–31, 2011
Target	Civilians
Attack type	Vehicular, IED and knife attack
Weapons	Explosives, truck, guns, knives
Deaths	23 (Day one: nine, including one attacker; Day two: 14, including eight attackers)
Non-fatal injuries	42 (Day one: 27; Day two: 15, including three police)
Perpetrators	East Turkestan Islamic Movement

The 2011 Kashgar attacks were a series of knife and bomb attacks in Kashgar, Xinjiang, China on July 30 and 31, 2011. On July 30, two Uyghur men hijacked a truck, killed its driver, and drove into a crowd of pedestrians. They got out of the truck and stabbed six people to death and injured 27 others. One of the attackers was killed by the crowd; the other was brought into custody. On July 31, a chain of two explosions started a fire at a downtown restaurant. A group of armed Uyghur men killed two people inside of the restaurant and four people outside, injuring 15 other people. Police shot five suspects dead, detained four, and killed two others who initially escaped arrest.

The government says the attackers confessed to Jihadist motives and membership in the terrorist group East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), while an overseas pro-Uyghur independence group claims the attackers were frustrated by a lack of options for nonviolent anti-government protest. Businesses temporarily closed down and riot police patrolled the city until August 4. ETIM acknowledged responsibility for the attack on September 8, as well as for the attack in Hotan earlier that same July. Six men were given prison or death sentences for their involvement in both attacks later in September.

Kashgar is "one of the most volatile cities in China", near to the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan, and contains many cultural icons for the Chinese Muslim Uyghur minority. The proximity of the Jihadist activity in Afghanistan and Pakistan serve as an inspiration for Uyghur extremists.Han people form about 20% of the population and live apart from the local Uyghurs. Anthropologist Dru Gladney said that in Kashgar, "any small incident quickly overheats and boils into something much larger". From 2003 to 2006, a Xinjiang-wide "crackdown on extremism" reduced the incidence of terrorist attacks, but alienated many Uyghurs and aided extremist recruitment. In the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics in August, two Uyghur men killed 16 people in Kashgar with a combination truck collision and stabbing.