The terrorist attack in Kashgar took place on February 28, 2012 , the target of the attack was civilians. The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan ) is home to about nine million Uyghurs who complain of harassment from China’s central government. The number of Han nations (the dominant ethnic group of China) living in XUAR has risen sharply in the autonomous region over the past decade.
| Act of terrorism in Kashgar | |
|---|---|
 Kashgar on the map of China | |
| Overview Information | |
| Attack target | civilians |
| date | February 28, 2012 |
| Attack method | knife fight |
| Weapon | knives |
| Dead | 20 |
| The wounded | is unknown |
| The number of terrorists | ~ 10 |
| The terrorists | Uyghur militants |
| Organizers |  Islamic Movement of East Turkestan |
Attack
A group of men armed with knives attacked a market in Kashgar , at least 12 people were killed in the attack. The motive for the attack was not immediately established, although armed clashes have regularly occurred in Xinjiang in recent years. Official Beijing blames the riots solely on separatists and terrorists.
Local police commented on the attack, saying that about a dozen Uighurs attacked the market, while killing 10 people. Xinhua State News Agency reported that police then killed two attackers. A report on the Xinjiang government website, meanwhile, said that seven attackers were killed after they killed 13 "innocent people."
“At about 6:00 pm local time, about a dozen separatist rebels appeared on the market, where the people of the Han nation worked. After that, the Uighurs began to cut the Chinese with knives, ”a local police officer said.
Xinjiang authorities said last month they plan to recruit another 8,000 police officers, as China plans to strengthen security in this rebellious province.