Xinjiang raid | |||||||
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Part of Xinjiang conflict | |||||||
Map showing Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China |
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Belligerents | |||||||
People's Republic of China | East Turkestan Islamic Movement | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Ba Yan | Unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1 killed 1 wounded |
18 killed 17 captured |
The January 2007 Xinjiang raid was carried out on January 5, 2007 by the Chinese police against a suspected East Turkestan Islamic Movement training camp in Akto County in the Pamir plateau.
A spokesperson for the Xinjiang Public Security Department said that 18 terror suspects were killed and 17 captured. The raid also resulted in the death of one Chinese paramilitary officer Huang Qiang, age 21, and the injury of another officer. Authorities confiscated hand grenades, guns, and makeshift explosives from the site.
In reaction, many exiled Uyghur leaders quickly have questioned the motives behind the raid. Rebiya Kadeer, Uyghur human-rights activist, has called for an independent UN investigation into the raid, while Alim Seytoff, executive chairman of the World Uighur Congress, claims the Chinese government has yet to produce evidence to substantiate the camp's connections to terrorism. In response, Zhao Yongchen, vice head of the Xinjiang counterterrorism forces, reiterated the reality of the camp's terrorist threat.