Attacker tells CCTV he regrets terror assault

The surviving attacker in a brutal assault in Hotan prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, has apologized and said he was lucky not to have been killed like his two accomplices by the fierce resistance of the people they ambushed on June 15.

Muer Zhati, who has a wound on his head, said in the Uygur language during a China Central Television interview that he was motivated by other attackers and thought he was engaged in jihad.

"They (conspirators) talked about 'jihad' and said we would skip Yawm al-Din (judgment) and enter Jannah (heaven) directly after we fought and died for jihad," he said.