TURPAN — Chinese state media demanded severe punishment yesterday to put down what the country has said is a holy war aimed at Beijing by Islamist militants from the Xinjiang region.

Security has been strengthened in Beijing and Xinjiang, after an SUV ploughed through bystanders at the capital’s iconic Tiananmen Square on Monday and burst into flames.

The exiled leader of Xinjiang’s Muslim Uighur minority has called for an independent probe into the attack, which left five dead and dozens injured.

Ms Rebiya Kadeer, President of the World Uyghur Congress, said she did not believe any kind of organised extremist Islamic movement was operating in Xinjiang, a view shared by rights groups. “It is almost impossible for Uighurs to organise (attacks) due to China’s stringent controls,” she said.

The police said the incident was a carefully planned “terrorist attack” carried out by people from Xinjiang. They announced that they had apprehended five suspects in Beijing, who they said were Islamist militants planning a holy war. Their names suggest they are Uighurs.

Such an attack is a crime against humanity, the city’s official Beijing Daily said. “Maintaining the capital’s security and stability is a responsibility of utmost importance.”

The English-language China Daily said the perpetrators would “go down in history as murderers, not heroes”.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the government opposed the linking of violence to the country’s ethnic and religious policies. Beijing is clear it faces a threat from separatists who carry out violent attacks and have links with groups outside China, she added. REUTERS