US told to return terrorists

China yesterday called for speedy return of 17 Chinese terror suspects detained at Guantanamo Bay, which new US President Barack Obama has vowed to shut as his first order of business.

The prisoners, captured in Pakistan and Afghanistan in 2001, are from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and are part of the outlawed East Turkestan Islamic Movement, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said.

The group, deemed a terrorist organization by the UN and the US, wants to see Xinjiang split from China.