Sabotage attempts thwarted in Urumqi

URUMQI - Police have thwarted several attempts to sabotage public safety in the run-up to an international trade fair to be held in the country's northwest, a senior local official said.

Zhu Hailun, the Party chief of Urumqi in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, told reporters on Wednesday, one day before the opening of the China-Eurasia Expo, that separatists, religious extremists and terrorists have been plotting to sabotage the expo.

He confirmed that airport security staff in Urumqi on Aug 7 arrested a man who attempted to take a knife on board. He has been detained on suspicion of planning to carry out an attack during the flight.