Jihadis Have Begun “Year-Long Terror Campaign” Against China
Islamic separatists in western China are executing a carefully laid plan to sabotage the Beijing Olympics and make 2008 a “year of mourning”, a senior Chinese official claimed today — a day after a devastating attack that killed 16 policemen in the desert city of Kashgar.
In the first official response to the attacks, Shi Dagang, a senior Communist Party official in Kashgar, said that China faced a long struggle against terrorism perpetrated by local and foreign separatists seeking to establish an independent state of East Turkestan in the Muslim-dominated Xinjiang province.
“Since last year, East Turkestan forces have tried to launch sabotage and violence against the Beijing Games,” Mr Shi said. “They are trying to turn 2008 into a year of mourning for China.
“I admit that we face a severe campaign because I know that these people will not lose their momentum, but we are confident that we can control the broader environment.”
Extra police were visible at tourist sites in the city and, according to Chinese state media, cars coming into the city were being searched after yesterday’s grenade attack.
Describing it as a “well planned attack”, Mr Shi said that a stolen lorry was driven from behind into a group of border patrolmen out on their morning jog. One of the two attackers had lost an arm as he set off a homemade bomb, but his companion threw more bombs, and set about the injured survivors with knives.
The two men were overcome and arrested. In their lorry, they were found to be carrying nine bombs, two long knives, two daggers and a gun.
They had allegedly also written wills in which they were quoted as saying: “Faith is more important than life, more important than the prosperity of family, more important than a mother’s love. Therefore, we will pursue jihad with all our might.”
Mr Shi named two groups that he said were targeting the Olympics: the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (Etim) and the East Turkestan Liberation Organisation. “At the beginning of this year, Etim dispatched orders that from April and May, they will launch major incidents until the Beijing Games . . . this is the reality that we have to face, a combination of internal and external forces, jointly co-ordinating a series of attacks.”
The Chinese authorities have reported several incidents this year which they have attributed to East Turkestan terrorists, including the attempted bombing of a domestic passenger plane and bus bombs in the southwest city of Kunming. Responsibility for the latter was claimed on the internet in the name of Etim, but Chinese officials and foreign analysts have expressed doubts about the claims.
The attack, the biggest of its kind in ten years, caused alarm but little surprise in Kashgar, an oasis town on the ancient Silk Route, where Chinese immigrants are greatly outnumbered by Uighur locals. Most people refused to discuss the incident, for fear of getting into trouble with the security forces, but the few who were prepared to speak anonymously expressed mixed feeling about the effect of the attack.
Were these rather vague reports serious terrorist threats or an effort by the Chinese authorities to justify the intense security measures imposed on the country during the Olympics? Monday’s attack proves that, however much the Chinese security forces may manipulate information, they also face a real threat.
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Thet’re gonna loose! Their heads, their legs, their heartbeats!!!!
Don’t fuck with the Chinese! They’ve been slaughtering entire populations for over 3,000 years now!
August 5th, 2008 at 7:36 amIf they’re doing this because they’ve figured out U.S. interests are hard targets that result in mass casualties and think the Chinese won’t decimate them in turn and I mean that as in the Roman era punishment, they’re out of their heads.
Then again I doubt people who say, “Faith is more important than life… more important than a mother’s love” really understand a parents love for a child or are sane in the first place.
Seriously, this isn’t Israel they’re messing with, if they pull a Munich type stunt you can damn well bet China will flatten them and their separatist territory.
August 5th, 2008 at 7:37 amBad air, terrorists, communist regime and a new earthquake has just hit china today. 6.0 in the same region as the last big one.
http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2008/08/magnitude-60-qu.html
August 5th, 2008 at 7:38 amoh i forgot to add the reason for my comment. those are all reasons to not go to this olympics.
August 5th, 2008 at 7:40 amThe Chi-coms may not have the worlds best toys to bring to the fight, but they are utterly unencumbered by P.C. and a liberal press…They ought to notify satan that there is a boatload more of islamo-trash coming soon.
August 5th, 2008 at 7:48 amWow saw this coming……
August 5th, 2008 at 8:02 amThe Chi Comms are scumbags too….but I honestly think I hate Islam even more..so I’ll be rooting for China on this one. At least the Chinese know Communism is pretty much bullshit…the God damn arabs/etc still need to realize Islam is bullshit too.
August 5th, 2008 at 8:21 amWhat do you want to bet the Chicoms will use the opportunity to round up some Christian groups too while they are at it. Maybe some students as well just for good measure. Probably find some way to claim the US is behind it too.
August 5th, 2008 at 10:05 amThe Chi-coms may not have the worlds best toys to bring to the fight, but they are utterly unencumbered by P.C. and a liberal press…They ought to notify satan that there is a boatload more of islamo-trash coming soon.
That would be my take. Hopefully, it will serve as a demonstration on what can get accomplished when PC and liberals are swept aside into irrelevancy!
August 5th, 2008 at 11:45 amI agree with all of the above.
I just hope they can stop an attack on innocent athletes.
Makes me a little nervous knowing that these Haji’s always manage to get at least one IED or VBIED off successfully. They’ve had a long time to get a solid plan together.
I hate to say it, but these camel-humpers are pretty cunning.
Lets hope this time they’re not.
August 5th, 2008 at 1:34 pm31Mike;
August 5th, 2008 at 3:01 pmArab riddle:
‘How many humps per camel?’
Ans: As many as it will put up with.
Kurt;
August 5th, 2008 at 3:07 pmThat earthquake in China: “CNN says it killed at least one person.” So I guess a headline could say, “Possible Plural Death Toll”?