Deadly Xinjiang 'terrorist' shootout revealed after week-long silence

Reports say 22 people were killed after police raid in Kashgar

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Residents walk past as armed paramilitary policemen patrol along a street in Kashgar last month. Photo: Reuters

Published: 2:53pm, 28 Aug 2013Updated: 7:15pm, 28 Aug 2013

A minor Chinese newspaper has for the first time reported on a violent confrontation last week between security forces and "terrorists" in Xinjiang, in which at least 22 people were killed, according to exile sources.

The Kashgar Daily reported on Wednesday on a memorial service earlier this week for Yan Xiaofei, a 32-two year old police officer who died during a security forces raid on a “gang of terrorists” in a building in Yecheng county, Kashgar prefecture, which borders on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

A photo of the memorial service for Yan Xiaofei shared by an attendee on Sina Weibo.

The newspaper, run by the local Communist Party committee, said Yan was killed during the "disposing of a violent terrorist gang on August 20". "He charged ahead with the battle in front of him, courageously and fearlessly braving death," the report said.

In addition to 22 killed in the raid, four others were arrested, said Radio Free Asia’s Uygur service earlier this week, citing local sources. The report also mentioned that the building where the raid took place had been monitored by a security forces’ helicopter for a week.

On the day after the raid, a Kashgar court sentenced nine people to jail for inciting racial hatred and ethnic discrimination, according to a local media report.