AFP

Dozens of people were killed and injured in a "terrorist attack" in China's far western Xinjiang region, home to the mainly Muslim Uighur minority, state media reported on Tuesday.

"A gang armed with knives and axes attacked a police station and government offices" in Shache county early Monday, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing local police.

"Dozens of Uighur and Han civilians were killed or injured" when some moved to a nearby township, attacking civilians and smashing vehicles, the report said.

"Police officers at the scene shot dead dozens of members of the mob," it added.

The attack came on the eve of Muslims in China marking the Eid festival.

Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the exile World Uyghur Congress, an exile group, said in an e-mail that more than 20 Uighurs were shot dead by armed authorities while 10 were injured.

A total of 13 Chinese security personnel were killed and injured, he said citing what he described as a local source, and about 67 people were arrested.

Information in Xinjiang is often difficult to verify independently and it is not unusual for there to be a time lag in official media reporting violent incidents, especially when they involve clashes with police.

In a bylined commentary Xinhua said that the attack was intended to "destabilise the region and spread fear and hatred".

"Police shooting dead of the mobsters was decisive and well justified," it said.

"The attack is against the spirit of Ramadan, which is about the practice of self-discipline and self-control," it added.

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