Xinjiang's Party chief wages 'people's war' against terrorism

39 dead in Urumqi terrorist bombing

BEIJING - Nine terrorists were sentenced to death and three others given death with a two-year reprieve among verdicts on 81 people punished for their roles in terrorist activities in the northwestern region of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

The official Weibo account of CCTV News reported the sentences handed down on Thursday by courts in Tacheng, Urumqi, Aksu, Kezilesu Kirgiz, Kashgar, and Hotan involving 23 different cases. Defendants were charged with crimes including organizing, leading or participating in terrorist organizations, intentional manslaughter and arson.

The country has launched a one-year nationwide campaign against terrorism after a series of violent and deadly attacks by radicals and religious extremists.

Yang Huanning, executive vice-minister of public security, said the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region would be the main battlefield.

The move came after the May 22 bomb attack that claimed 43 lives and injured 94 residents at a marketplace in Urumqi.

So far this year, police have detained more than 200 suspects in 23 groups and found more than 200 explosive devices in Hotan, Kashgar and Aksu prefectures in southern Xinjiang where terrorism and religious extremism are prevalent.