Some of them received weapons training at Afghan camps affiliated with al Qaeda or the Taliban as part of their separatist movement -- the Uighur minority is brutally repressed by the Chinese government -- though they are not considered threats to the U.S. or other Western nations.

WSJ: Palau to the Rescue

Meanwhile Chairman of Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region Nur Bekri told Xinhua News Agency that this was neither ethnic nor religious conflict, but a separatist movement that left no space for compromise.

BBC: China media: Xinjiang arrests