Bloody mayhem shakes Chinese city

• Tweet

KASHGAR, China, July 31 (UPI) -- Rioting shook the Chinese city of Kashgar for a second day Sunday as police reported killing four men the day after seven people died in clashes.

The violence began Saturday in the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in what police described as "a severely violent terrorism case," the state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

Uygurs are predominantly Muslim and there are factions seeking an autonomous state.

Two men fatally stabbed a truck driver Saturday night and then drove the vehicle into a crowd, China Radio International's English Web site reported.

When the truck came to a stop, the hijackers got out and began slashing at people with knives, the report said.

Six people in the crowd were killed and 28 others were hurt, police said. A seventh die in another confrontation.

Sunday afternoon, violence erupted on the streets again and 10 civilians and police officers were injured, Xinhua said. There were conflicting reports on whether a small bomb exploded or if the injured were slashed with knives.

Police shot and killed four suspects and were searching for four other men Sunday night, the report said.