CHINA:EIGHT PEOPLE died in suicide bomb attacks on government offices and shootouts with police yesterday in the restive province of Xinjiang as Muslim separatists stepped up their campaign of violence.
Security in China's so-called "wild west" is deteriorating rapidly.
"I think there is a real threat during the Olympics. We look for 'combat indicators' and the recent change in modus operandi by Uighur separatists in Xinjiang province and the trend of increased activity is essentially a combat indicator," said a Beijing-based security consultant, who wished to keep his identity secret.
China has identified militants seeking an independent "East Turkestan" homeland for Muslim Uighurs as the biggest threat to Olympic security.
Four suicide bombers armed with homemade grenades died in attacks on government offices in the town of Kuqa at dawn which killed one person. Police subsequently shot dead three assailants.
The suicide bombers drove by taxi to their targets in the south of Xinjiang, more than 3,000 kilometres from Beijing.
In all, there were 12 separate bombings.
The attacks during the Olympic Games come on the heels of a daring attack last week when separatists drove a dump truck into a group of jogging policeman in Kashgar, before attacking the officers with knives and grenades. Sixteen policemen died.
The militants have also been linked to a bus bombing in the city of Kunming last month.
Five days before that, an Uighur was found to be carrying 100 detonators.
There are fears over Beijing's "soft targets" such as a bus or a subway train.
"In terms of the order of risk, the Olympic venues are at the bottom," said the security consultant. "The highest risk is buses and public transport. It's improved in recent weeks, but it's in concentric circles.
"The closer you are to the venues, the tighter the security. But all you need is one weak station and you have access to the whole network," he said.
Wang Wei, secretary-general of the Olympics organising committee, said Xinjiang separatists were using the "platform of the Olympics to amplify the effects".
Xinjiang is home to eight million Uighurs, a Turkic ethnic group who share certain linguistic and cultural bonds with central Asia.