Thirty-one people are dead and more than 90 are injured in an explosion in China's Xinjiang region.
"Shortly before eight in the morning, two cars plowed into a crowded market in the center of Urumqi, hitting several people and then releasing explosives." (Via The Wall Street Journal)
China's Ministry of Public Security is calling the event "an act of terrorism." The Wall Street Journal reports this is the second attack in Urumqi in less than a month.
The first, an attack at a train station that killed three and injured dozens. Euronews reports China's government has blamed both attacks on the same separatist group.
"China has blamed the string of violent attacks in recent months on militant separatists from Muslim ethnic Uighurs." (Via Euronews)
CNN says representatives of the Uighur minority are resentful of "harsh treatment from Chinese security forces," and economic disparity between ethnic groups in the region.
"It's a very potential serious escalation ... those who represent the Uighur minority in the diaspora say incidents can often be because of local disagreements." (Via CNN)
And Voice of America says other Uighur groups echo that sentiment. "Exiled Uighur groups say the attacks are driven by the heavy-handed restrictions on Uighur religious life and by policies that favor the majority Han ethnic group."
No one has claimed responsibility for the bomb attack, but Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua says China's president has promised to "severely punish terrorists," in relation to the incident.
