Free Republic

China's most-wanted terrorist suspect has been killed in a joint US and Pakistani military operation, according to Chinese state media. The death of Hasan Mahsum, a leader of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) from China's mainly Muslim north-western region of Xinjiang, could not immediately be confirmed and the state media reports were removed from newspaper websites yesterday.However, if true, Mr Mahsum's demise would offer a big boost to Beijing's efforts to link its crackdown on pro-independence activity in Xinjiang to the wider US-led "war on terror".Earlier this month, China had put Mr Mahsum's name at the head of its...

A Muslim man recently identified by China as its top "terrorist" has been shot and killed in an anti-terrorism operation in Pakistan by US and Pakistani forces, official media said. Hasan Mahsum, a former resident of north-western China's Xinjiang region, was killed recently, the Beijing News said, providing no details of the exact time and location of the incident. China last week placed Hasan Mahsum on the top of its first ever list of 11 ethnic Uighur Muslim separatists from the Xinjiang region who it branded as "terrorists". It identified Mahsum, 39, as a leader of the East Turkistan Islamic...