Chinese state media says clash in Xinjiang leaves 16 dead

Sixteen people have been killed in a clash in China's restive far western region of Xinjiang, home to the mostly Muslim Uighur ethnic minority, state media has reported.

Police attempting to detain criminal suspects in Shufu county in the city of Kashgar were attacked by several "thugs" armed with explosive devices and knives, reported the tianshannet news portal on Monday, which is run by the Xinjiang government.

Two police officers were killed and 14 of the "thugs" shot dead on Sunday, it said. 

"Police responded decisively," the government said in a brief statement, adding that two people had also been detained and that an investigation had been launched.

Reuters was unable to immediately reach government officials for comment. The Associated Press reported that calls to local authorities went unanswered or were answered by officials who said they did not know about the attack.

The incident comes six weeks after a fiery attack in Tiananmen Square, when according to Chinese police three Xinjiang Uighurs set their vehicle ablaze after ploughing into crowds of tourists, killing two people and injuring 40.

The three attackers - named by authorities as Usmen Hasan, his wife and his mother - all died.

Xinjiang, a vast area bordering Pakistan and Central Asia in China's far west, beyond the furthest reaches of the Great Wall, has followed Islam for centuries.

For years it has seen sporadic unrest by Uighurs which rights groups say is driven by cultural oppression and intrusive security measures but China attributes to extremist religion, terrorism and separatism.

Many of Xinjiang's Turkic-speaking, Muslim people chafe at restrictions on their culture, language and religion, although the government insists it grants them broad freedoms.

Many rights groups say China has long overplayed the threat posed to justify its tough controls in energy-rich Xinjiang, which lies strategically on the borders of Central Asia, India and Pakistan.

Al Jazeera and wire services