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Summary Twenty people died when a group of armed men attacked a market in Xinjiang.
This was the latest outbreak of violence in the ethnically divided Chinese region, authorities said Wednesday.The motive behind the attack late on Tuesday was not immediately clear, but Xinjiang -- a vast northwestern region that is home to the mainly Muslim Uighur minority -- has suffered repeated outbreaks of ethnic unrest in recent years.The Xinhua state news agency initially put the toll at 12 dead, including two suspects. But the official information website Tianshan said Wednesday the death toll was 20.It said 13 were innocent people and police killed seven terrorists. Another two terrorists have been arrested.Nine violent terrorists rushed into the crowd with knives, killing 13 innocent people and wounding several others, Tianshan said.A police officer told AFP by telephone earlier Wednesday that around a dozen Uighurs wielding axes attacked the market in the remote town of Yecheng, killing 10 people and police then shot five of the attackers dead.--AFP
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