Terrorism in China: Shanghai Bus Explosion claimed by Turkestan Islamic Party

Kaiser Kuo just broadcast over Twitter that an Uighur separatist group (Turkestan Islamic Party, which may or may not be the same as East Turkestan Islamic Movement or ETIM) has taken credit for the deadly bombing of Shanghai bus route #842 I posted earlier this past May. From Yahoo News:

In a video statement, Commander Seyfullah of the Turkestan Islamic Party claimed credit for several attacks, including the May 5 Shanghai bus bombing which killed three; another Shanghai attack; an attack on police in Wenzhou on July 17 using an explosive-laden tractor; a bombing of a Guangzhou plastic factory on July 17; and bombings of three buses in Yunnan province on July 21.

Three people were killed as a result of the explosion on the crowded bus in Shanghai on May 5, police and witnesses said.

The incident occurred during the morning traffic rush hour in northwest Shanghai and also left 12 people injured.

At the time, authorities attributed the blast to flammable materials carried by a passenger.

But Seyfullah said the blast was the work of his group and warned of more explosions to come.

…read the rest.

I quickly questioned the “official story” given by Chinese authorities after the incident that the bus merely caught fire. While I fully understand the idea that we don’t want to cause needless panic amongst the citizenry, I (and a lot of Shanghainese) do feel a bit vindicated that the truth has come out…of course, provided the Turkestan Islamic Party isn’t just misappropriating credit.

In light of this, I do feel a bit for the Chinese central government, dealing with “splittists” and “terrorists” on one side while having to fend off the constant criticisms of “the West” on the other. But hey, welcome to the big leagues, China. Please take a seat next to the United States. There’s always a price to pay for greatness, everyone pays it, and “harmonious, peaceful China” is no exception.

I’m curious how this might (or if it will) play out in China’s domestic media. Let me know in the comments if you see any news reports on this.

7/26 UPDATE from Elliott:

via Kaiser Kuo of Digital Watch, here is what is supposed to be the Turkestan Islamic Party’s video (Arabic) claiming responsibility:

7/26 UPDATE from Elliott:

The Guardian.Co.uk (via Reuters) reports the denial of Chinese authorities that the May 5 bus explosion was not the work of this group:

Chinese authorities denied claims by a group calling itself the Turkistan Islamic Party that it was responsible for deadly bus explosions in Shanghai and Yunnan province ahead of the Olympic Games, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.
The group released a video threatening the Beijing Olympic Games and claiming responsibility for deadly bus explosions in Shanghai and in Yunnan’s Kunming, a terrorism monitoring firm in Washington said on Friday.
But Xinhua reported that a police investigation of the Shanghai blast on May 5 had nothing to do with “terrorist attacks”.
The blast, which killed three people and wounded 12, was caused by inflammables such as oil, Cheng Jiulong, Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau deputy head, was quoted by Xinhua as saying.
“The blast was indeed deliberate but had nothing to do with terrorist attacks,” he said.

7/26 UPDATE from Elliott:

John Kennedy at Global Voices Online also posted on this and highlighted the fact that the Turkestan Islamic Party may not actually be ETIM, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement.  Also, he posts what may be a translation to the video, also posted on the IntelCenter website:

恐怖份子 Turkistan Islamic Party Commander Seyfullah: “Our damullah, Abdul Heq, made his final order to the [person] responsible for the military regarding the issue of severely attacking all central cities in inner China, particularly focusing on eight cities that are going to hold Olympic games. … ask our merciful Allah to allow these brothers and sisters [suicide bombers] to deal a fatal blow in this jihad against Chinese & we ask our merciful Allah to completely stop Olympic Games. … Bomb Chinese government buildings, military barracks, airplanes, airports, railways, hotels, entertainment venues, tourist spots and similar places…You’re even permitted to use biological weapons this time.”
Hopefully, this topic will not become too sensitive such that this post gets blocked.

Kenneth Tan at Shanghaiist also covers the story in more depth than we have here.