People of various ethnic groups have contributed to the January raid on a terrorist training camp in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, in which 18 terrorists were killed and 17 others captured, a lawmaker said on Tuesday.

 

The local residents provided clues linking to the terrorists and volunteered to help the police pursue a number of others after the gun battle on Jan. 5, said Mutuola Musha, who is in Beijing attending the annual session of the 10th National People's Congress, the top legislature.

 

Fifth-eight-year-old Mutuola Musha, who has been a policeman in Xinjiang for 40 years, said the police mainly target the masterminds, hard core and criminals engaged in violent terrorist activities, and are cautious not to infringe on the rights and interests of the local people.

 

Xinjiang has been investing heavily to support the development of areas bordering some Central Asian countries, which helped increase the income of farmers and herdsmen. The people there have contributed a lot in the fight against terrorism, Mutuola Musha said.

 

The training camp was run by the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a group that the United Nations in 2002 labeled a terrorist organization.

 

In the January raid, the police also seized 22 hand grenades and more than 1,500 others the terrorists had not finished making, as well as guns and other home-made explosives. The police found the terrorists operate several mines near the camp to raise fund.

 

One policeman was killed by terrorists and another wounded in the gun battle.

 

It is believed that more than 1,000 ETIM members have been trained by Al-Qaeda.

 

Former head of the terrorist group, Hasan Mahsum, was shot dead by Pakistani troops on Oct. 2, 2003, in a joint anti-terror operation along the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

 

Hasan Mahsum was accused of plotting a series of violent terrorist activities in recent years, including robbery and murderin Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang, and murders in Xinjiang's Hotan region, which caused heavy loss of life and property.

 

(Xinhua News Agency March 6, 2007)