Attack type Bus bombing Perpetrators Uyghur islamists Location Ürümqi, China | Non-fatal injuries 74 Date 25 February 1997 Location Ürümqi | |
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Deaths 9 (including 3 children) Similar 1992 Ürümqi bombings, May 2014 Ürümqi attack, 2008 Kashgar attack, Tianjin Airlines Flight 7554, 2013 Tiananmen Square at | ||
On February 25, 1997, three bombs exploded on three buses (line 10, line 44, and line 2) in Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China. Nine people were killed, including at least three children, and a further 74 were injured. Another bomb in the south railway station (the main station in Ürümqi) failed to explode. Steel balls, screws, and nails were found in the bombs.
Uyghur Islamists had committed the bombings. Responsibility for the attacks was claimed and acknowledged by factions of certain diaspora Uyghurs.
Background
Continuing tensions in Xinjiang have been a source of terrorism in China. Conflicts over Uyghur cultural aspirations resurfaced during the 1960s. In early February 1997 the execution of 30 suspected separatists who had been involved in the organisation of Meshrep during Ramadan resulted in large demonstrations, which culminated in the Gulja incident on 5 February, in which at least nine protesters were killed.