(Photo : REUTERS) Police with riot gear guard a checkpoint on a road near a courthouse where ethnic Uighur academic Ilham Tohti's trial is taking place in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.


Forty rioters were killed on September 21 in China's Xinjiang region as confirmed Thursday by Tianshan, the news portal of Xinjiang, due to synchronized explosions detonated at the market, two police stations, and a shop entrance.



The four explosions were set off on Sunday evening at the Luntai county of Xinjiang leaving 54 civilians injured, 32 of which were mostly from the Muslim Uighur minority while the other 22 were identified as Han Chinese.



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According to reports from the state media, 40 rioters may have blown themselves up or were shot by the police however, these speculations have not yet been confirmed.



Two rioters were captured following the attack and the main suspect, identified as Mamat Tursun, was shot dead, reports Tianshan.



Tursun was said to be the agitator of the attacks and had been part of an extremist group against China since 2003. Reportedly, he had been calling on other people in their region to join the terrorist group he started.



Due to the CPC strictly enforcing limited access to the region, facts and numbers were not confirmed immediately, causing the nation's state media to previously report that only two had died in the attacks.



The attack came two days after Uighur professor, Ilham Tothi, was sentenced to life in prison. Critics had warned that the recent ruling regarding Tothi's case might add tension to the region.



In the past year, the violence carried out by rebels took more than 200 innocent lives. A mass stabbing attack at a train station in Kumming in March left 29 dead, while another assault at a market in Urumqi had a death toll of 30. Conflicts inside the region have also claimed lives due to the battle between the locals and security officials.



On Sunday, the supreme court of China set new guidelines regarding terrorism-related cases. Xinhua news agency noted that the making and showing of banners and other materials presenting extremism would be criminalized.




TagsUighurs, Xinjian, 40 Rioters, Killed, synchronized explosions, 54 civilians injured, Rebels, Ilham Tothi, sentenced, life in prison, blast, Explosion, rioters