Anti-terrorism efforts in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region will take a long time to show results, an expert said on Sunday, nearly a week after the region experienced its most deadly terrorist attack in recent years.

Thirty-seven civilians were killed and 13 injured last Monday in Shache county, southern Xinjiang's Kashgar prefecture. Police gunned down 59 terrorists and arrested 215 others, the regional government said in a statement released on Sunday.

The case was first reported on Tuesday, but no figures were given except the fact that dozens of people had died. Among the dead were 35 Han Chinese and two Uygurs, the statement said. Also, of the 31 vehicles smashed in the violent attack, six were burned.