50 dead in Xinjiang coal mine attack as China marks 60th anniversary of region's founding

At least 50 people died as knife-wielding men attacked a coal mine in Xinjiang last month, according to a media report and the World Uygur Congress.

The incident was not reported by state media.

The report on the attack came as the region marked the 60th anniversary on Thursday of the establishment of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Attending one of the anniversary events on Wednesday, Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said troops in the region should play a bigger role in fighting separatism, terrorism and extremism.

US-based Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that 50 people, most of them Han Chinese, were killed in the September 18 attack at the Sogan colliery in Aksu prefecture. Most of the victims were migrant workers from rural Sichuan. Among the dead were five police officers. Another 50 were injured, according to the report.

"Nearly all the workers who were not on shift at the time were killed or injured," police officer Ekber Hashim told RFA. "Some workers were sleeping while others were preparing to work when the attackers raided the building after killing the security guards."