8 killed in knife attack in Xinjiang

BEIJING (AP) – Eight people were killed in China's far western Xinjiang region, including three knife-wielding assailants, in the latest outbreak of violence in the volatile territory, authorities said Wednesday. According to a statement posted on the local government's website, the attack occurred Tuesday evening in Pishan county in southern Xinjiang, home to China's Uighur ethnic minority. It said the three also injured five others before being shot dead by police. Uighurs are predominantly Muslim, Turkic-speaking people distinct from the Chinese-speaking Han national majority. They have long chafed under the rule of Beijing, more than 1,800 miles (3,000 km) away from the provincial capital of Urumqi.