Chinese police have detained five suspects following Monday's deadly crash in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, which has been identified as a suicide terrorism attack in which thee people deliberately drove an SUV into the square, leaving five people dead (including the attackers) and dozens hurt, CNN reported. The attack was described as 'carefully planned, organized and premeditated," police said on their official page online.
All three attackers died when their vehicle exploded "beneath the portrait of Mao Zedong hanging from Tiananmen Gate," The Associated Press reported. Two tourists were killed by the vehicle as it sped down a crowded sidewalk,
The five suspects are reportedly arrested on suspicion of conspiring in the attack. They are are members of the ethnic Uighurs, a Muslim minority. Uighurs are Muslim Turks most residing in the northwestern region of Xinjiang. They have long expressed opposition to Chinese rule and have battled security for many years. They have expressed their anger at being made to feel like second-class citizens, The AP reported
'Knieves, iron rods, gasoline and a flag imprinted with religious slogans were found in the vehicle," The Associated Press reported.
Chinese officials point to radical Islam as a crucial factor in the attacks, following a summer of clashes in Xinjiang, including an attack on a police station that left at least 56 people dead this year, The AP reported.
Xinjiang borders Afghanistan and Central Asian states with a high population of militant Islamic groups, news reports said. .
