DHAKA: All eight suspects involved in this week’s suicide car crash near Beijing’s Tiananmen Square came from Hotan in Xinjiang and had surveyed the site three times before launching the attack.

Chinese state television reported online on Friday night, citing police, The Straits Times publishes this report on Saturday.

China’s top security official, Meng Jianzhu, had said on Thursday that the militant East Turkestan Islamic Movement (Etim) organised the suicide vehicle attack that killed five people in the heart of Beijing on Monday.

But Meng offered no details of the allegations against the Etim.

Beijing says the movement is dedicated to the violent overthrow of Chinese rule in the north-western region of Xinjiang that is home to the country’s Turkic Muslim Uighur minority.

This is the first time that Beijing has accused Etim of carrying out the attack in Tiananmen Square on Monday.

BDST: 1753 HRS, NOV 02, 2013
RoR/RIS