Viciousness of rioters 'unexpected'

Police shot dead 12 mobsters during the July 5 riot in Urumqi, a senior official has said - the first time the government revealed the extent of force used by security forces in the worst violence in that region in decades.

On the night of the riot, police in Urumqi "resolutely" shot the mobsters after firing guns into the air had no effect on these "extremely vicious" thugs, Nur Bekri, chairman of the Xinjiang Uygur regional government, said in an interview over the weekend.

Bekri said three of them died on the spot while nine died later. He did not reveal which ethnic group the mobsters belonged to.