Attack in Xinjiang capital Urumqi kills 31

Attackers have crashed two cars into shoppers at a market in the Xinjiang capital, Urumqi, and thrown explosives, killing 31 people, Chinese reports say.

One of the vehicles exploded in the attack, which happened on Thursday morning. More than 90 people were hurt, state-run Xinhua news agency said.

The Ministry of Public Security called it a "violent terrorist incident".

There are periodic outbreaks of violence in Xinjiang, which is home to the Muslim Uighur minority group.

Last month a bomb attack at a station in Urumqi killed three people and injured dozens more. China blamed the attack on Uighur separatists.

Information about incidents in the region, where ethnic tensions between Uighurs and Han Chinese continue, is tightly controlled.

'Multiple explosions'

Pictures on weibo - China's equivalent of Twitter - taken by eyewitnesses appeared to show that Thursday's attack happened at one end of a busy market street lined with stalls selling vegetables.

"Witnesses said two cross-country vehicles driving from north to south ploughed into people in the market at 07:50. Explosives were thrown out of the vehicles," the Xinhua report said.

One photo showed flames engulfing a junction and others showed at least three fire engines mobilised to put out the fire.

Local media said eyewitnesses heard multiple explosions. The injured were taken to several hospitals, Xinhua said.

Xinjiang lies in China's far west, bordering Central Asia. About 45% of its residents are Uighurs, who are Turkic Muslims.

The region has in recent decades seen large-scale inwards migration from Han Chinese.

China says it is pouring money into the region to improve livelihoods, but some Uighurs say their traditions - including religious freedom - are being crushed by tight Chinese control.

Tensions between the two communities erupted into violence in 2009 with riots in Urumqi that left some 200 people dead.

There have also been a series of violent incidents that Beijing has blamed on Uighur separatists - including an attack last year in Tiananmen Square.

Five people were killed when a car ploughed into pedestrians and then burst into flames. The three people who died in the car were Uighurs, Chinese authorities said.

In March, 29 people were killed in a mass knife attack at Kunming station that was also blamed on Uighur extremists.

The attack at Urumqi station came just after Chinese President Xi Jinping had visited the region.

This incident comes days after Chinese courts jailed 39 people as part of what the authorities called an operation to curb the spread of audio and video materials inciting terrorism.

Those jailed included a 25-year old who had incited hatred in comments made in chat rooms and a father who had preached extremism to his son, the Xinjiang Supreme Court said.

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