Police officer among 16 killed in Kashgar ‘anti-terror’ raid

A police officer was among at least 16 people killed in a clash between law enforcement and "terrorists" in Kashgar last week, state media revealed yesterday - eight days after the incident.

A report in the Kashgar Daily disclosed for the first time that tactical officer Yan Xiaofei, 32, was killed during a raid on August 20 in the restive area of southern Xinjiang. The report, which focused on a large memorial gathering for the fallen officer on Sunday, made no mention of other casualties.

The article came a day after police in Kashgar's Shule county said on their official microblog account that officers had shot dead 15 people while confronting a group of 28 suspected terrorists in Kargilik county. The post was later deleted without explanation.

Local community leaders estimated the number of suspects killed in the raid at 22, according to Radio Free Asia, which also reported that police suspected the group of making bombs.

Nearly 1,000 people, including governmental officials, teachers and police officers from the Kashgar area, attended the memorial for Yan, who was in the middle of the firefight, the Kashgar Daily reported.

Repeated calls to the Xinjiang government's press office went unanswered yesterday.