DHAKA: Six people died in explosions and another six were shot dead by police in China’s Xinjiang, in the latest wave of violence to hit the restive region.

The violence in Xinhe in Aksu prefecture in China’s far west appears to be linked to triple explosions that rocked the same area on Friday evening, which the authorities said resulted in three deaths.

It is unclear if the three deaths reported on Friday are included in the latest tally of 12 fatalities.

‘As police were dealing with violent incidents, a mob threw explosives,’ with six people killed by police, five arrested and another six killed as they ‘committed the offence’, the Tianshan news portal, which is run by the local government, said, reports The Straits Times.

Xinhe is an area located at China’s extreme west, on its border with Kyrgyzstan and populated predominantly by members of the country’s Uighur minority.

BDST: 1715 HRS, JAN 25, 2014