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Violence in western Chinese region of Xinjiang kills 21

Clashes in the unsettled western Chinese region of Xinjiang killed 21 people, including police officers and local officials, authorities said Wednesday.

The attacks took place Tuesday afternoon after three local officials visiting homes in the area found "several suspicious persons" and knives in one house, the Xinjiang government said in a statement.

When the officials alerted their superiors of the situation, the people in the house took them hostage, the statement said. Police rushed to the scene, and in the ensuing violence, six of the assailants and 15 other people were killed, it said. Two other people were injured.

Police captured eight of the attackers, whom the government described as "mobsters." It described the violence as a "terrorist act."

Some of the knives recovered by police were more than a meter long, according to Hou Hanmin, spokesperson for the Xinjiang government. She told CNN that some of the captured assailants said under interrogation that they had watched videos "from overseas" that featured violence and acts of terrorism.

"Then they made those large, lethal knives and wanted to use them for Jihad," she said, referring to the Arabic term meaning "struggle."

"They had been training in their own house for several months. They were affected by extremism and hoped to commit themselves to Jihad."

Xinjiang has been hit by periodic bouts of unrest. The worst violence in decades took place in July 2009, when rioting between Uyghurs and Han Chinese left around 200 people dead and 1,700 injured in the regional capital, Urumqi.

Uyghurs are predominantly Muslim ethnic Turks who are linguistically, culturally and religiously distinct from China's majority Han population.

Chinese authorities have cracked down on those they accuse of fomenting unrest in the region.

As is often the case, the government statement about Tuesday's clash didn't specify the ethnicity of the assailants. But it said that the 15 people killed who weren't "mobsters," comprised 10 Uyghurs, three Han, and two Mongolians.

The latest violence occurred in Bachu County, east of the city of Kashgar.

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Rescuers work at the accident site after a passenger vehicle rear-ended a truck at an expressway in Yancheng City, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 24, 2013. A fire broke out after the rear-end collision occurred, killing all the 8 people in the passenger vehicle.(Xinhua/Zhou Chenyang)

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A woman walks past an advertisement at a gas station in Xuyi County, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 24, 2013. China will cut the retail prices of gasoline by 395 yuan (63.91 U.S. dollars) per tonne and diesel by 400 yuan (64.72 U.S.dollars) per tonne starting Thursday, making the biggest plummet in the latest 9 months. (Xinhua/Zhou Haijun)

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Quake-affected students attend a class after moving to the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, April 24, 2013. The students, who will take part in the college entrance exam this summer, came from Lushan Middle School in Lushan County, which was hit by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake on April 20. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)

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Tian Tian (C) chats with her classmate before resuming lessons at a temporary shelter functioned as a classroom of the Lushan Middle School in quake-hit Lushan County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, April 24, 2013. Some students of the middle school, who will take part in the college entrance exam this summer, have moved to the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, to resume their lessons. The rest students in other grades of the middle school attended classes at temporary shelters on Wednesday. A 7.0-magnitude earthquake jolted Lushan County on April 20. (Xinhua/Zhang Hongxiang)

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Students attend a psychological counseling class before resuming their study at the Baoxing Middle School in quake-hit Baoxing County, Ya'an City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, April 24, 2013. Nearly 180 students, who will take part in the college entrance exam this summer, resumed their classes on Wednesday. A psychological counseling lesson was specially arranged for them as the first class after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake on April 20. (Xinhua/Luo Xiaoguang)

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An airplane is injected aviation biofuel at the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport in Shanghai, east China, April 24, 2013. Sinopec, China's top oil refiner, announced the success of the first test flight powered by the company's newly developed aviation biofuel product on Wednesday. An Airbus A320 owned by China Eastern Airlines landed at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport on Wednesday morning after completing an 85-minute journey using Sinopec's aviation biofuel, the company said. The biofuel made of palm oil and recycled cooking oil was produced by Sinopec Zhenhai Refining and Chemical Company. (Xinhua/Chen Fei)

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A ceremony is held to celebrate the test flight of an airplane using aviation biofuel at the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport in Shanghai, east China, April 24, 2013. Sinopec, China's top oil refiner, announced the success of the first test flight powered by the company's newly developed aviation biofuel product on Wednesday. An Airbus A320 owned by China Eastern Airlines landed at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport on Wednesday morning after completing an 85-minute journey using Sinopec's aviation biofuel, the company said. The biofuel made of palm oil and recycled cooking oil was produced by Sinopec Zhenhai Refining and Chemical Company. (Xinhua/Chen Fei)

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Zhang's courtyard, a century-old courtyard located in Longmen Town of Lushan County in Southwest China's Sichuan, has managed to pull through the major quake of April 20. Seven families, who lived here before, have now resumed normal life. The courtyard is constructed of tiles and timber. Zhang Dajin, one family member, told reporters, "This courtyard was built during the Tongzhi era of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). It lost nothing but a few tiles in the quake." [Photo/Xinhua]

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Children salute passing vehicles carrying rescuers and volunteers as they hold cardboards with messages of gratitude, after Saturday's earthquake, in Lushan county, Sichuan province April 23, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

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A rescue soldier smiles while holding a bowl of rice in the quake-hit Lingguan township, Sichuan province, April 21, 2013. [Photo by Qiu Haiying/Asianewsphoto]

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French President Francois Hollande (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands during the closing ceremony for the China-French Economic Forum at the Great Hall in Beijing on April 25, 2013. Hollande, accompanied by a high-powered business delegation, started a two-day visit to China, with trade rather than geopolitics at the top of the agenda. AFP PHOTO / POOL / Kim Kyung-Hoon

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CHINA, BEIJING - APRIL 25: Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan (R) walk past members of the French delegation as they arrive to greet French President Francois Hollande (not pictured) before reviewing an honour guard outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on April 25, 2013 in Beijing, China. Hollande has begun a two day trade visit to China bringing with him a large French trade delegation.

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Workers assemble components at a workshop of Bernard Controls, a French business which manufactures electric actuators and controls for the automation of industrial valves and dampers, prior to a visit by France's President Francois Hollande, in Beijing on April 25, 2013. Hollande arrived in Beijing on a trip aimed at boosting exports to China, with hopes that deals can be reached over the sale of aircraft and nuclear power. AFP PHOTO / POOL / Ed Jones

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By ChinaFotoPress Getty Images
SHANGHAI, CHINA - APRIL 24: Staff of China Eastern Airlines stand in front of an A320 airplane that uses biofuel for a trial flight early morning on April 24, 2013 in Shanghai, China. China Eastern Airlines completed its first successful test flight of an aircraft powered by biofuel.

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A spokesman of the health department introduces the situation of a suspected human case of H7N9 avian influenza at a press briefing in Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province, April 25, 2013. The health department of Jiangxi Province on Thursday reported the province's first suspected H7N9 case. The patient, a 69-year-old man, has been admitted to No. 3 Hospital in Nanchang. The total number of H7N9 cases reported in the Chinese mainland stood at 108, including 23 cases that have ended in death. (Xinhua/Zhou Mi)

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Rescue workers in protective clothing deal with decomposed ducks that died in the April 20 quake to prevent infectious diseases in Lushan county, Sichuan province, April 24, 2013. [Photo/China Daily]

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A farmer ploughs a piece of farmland on his tractor in Nong'an County, northeast China's Jilin Province, April 24, 2013. The Spring ploughing season is in full swing in northeast China. [Photo/Xinhua]

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Young women sport summer clothing and sunglasses to take advantage of sunshine during a stroll in Beijing.[Photo by Zong Hong/China Daily]

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SteelBird said:

Come on, Grandma!

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kwaigonegin said:

is grandma packing heat?

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A Long March-2D carrier rocket carrying a high-definition earth observation satellite "Gaofen-1" and other three small satellites made by Ecuador, Argentina and Turkey as well as two satellite splitters from the Netherlands blasts off from the launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, northwest China's Gansu Province, April 26, 2013. China successfully sent high-definition earth observation satellite "Gaofen-1" into space at 12:13 p.m. Beijing time on April 26. (Xinhua/Wang Peng)

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CHINA, BEIJING - APRIL 25: The partner of the French president, Valerie Trierweiler (L), and the wife of the Chinese president Peng Liyuan (front, C) watch as the leaders review an honor guard during a welcoming ceremony outside the Great Hall of the Peopleon April 25, 2013 in Beijing, China. Hollande has begun a two-day trade visit to China, bringing with him a large French trade delegation.

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A woman washes her hair on a street in the outskirts of Beijing April 26, 2013. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon (CHINA - Tags: SOCIETY)

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A worker sorts waste plastic bottles at a recycling centre in the outskirts of Beijing April 26, 2013.

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By ED JONES | AFP

People gather outside a food stall in Beijing on April 26, 2013.

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People watch as a beggar walks along a traditional Chinese 'hutong' alleyway in Beijing on April 26, 2013.

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BEIJING, CHINA - APRIL 25: Models get ready backstage before the Art School Northeast Dianli University Graduates Show on the second day of China Graduate Fashion Week at 751D.PARK Workshop on April 25, 2013 in Beijing, China.

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A rescue robot enters ruins to carry out search task in Ya'an City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, April 23, 2013. The deformable robot, created by Shenyang Institute of Automation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, has been put into use in assisting the search tasks during the Lushan Earthquake. (Xinhua)

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Customers browse polo t-shirts during the opening of Fast Retailing Co.'s Uniqlo Lee Theatre flagship store in Hong Kong, China, on Friday, April 26, 2013. Operating profit for the overseas Uniqlo business rose 40 percent for the six months ended February, while declining 4.5 percent in Japan amid a price cut. Photographer: Jerome Favre/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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An overseas Chinese donates for the Chinese quake victims in Sofia, Bulgaria, April 25, 2013. Overseas Chinese in Bulgarian offered 41,030 Lev (about 2,7400 U.S. dollars) in donation to help the earthquake relief in southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Xinhua/Liu Zai)

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Girls eat breakfast at a temporary settlement for quake-affected people in Lushan Middle School in Lushan County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, April 26, 2013. A 7.0-magnitude jolted Lushan County on April 20. (Xinhua/Li Wen)

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