China :14 rioters killed in Xinjiang attack

Chinese state media said Wednesday that 14 rioters were shot dead earlier this week after storming a police station in the country's far west, AP reported. It was the first official death toll for the rioters, who according to state media reports occupied a police station on Monday and hacked to death a security guard. The official Xinhua News Agency said a police officer, a woman and a teenage girl taken hostage by the rioters were also killed. Xinhua said the rioters threw gasoline bottles and rocks at police, destroyed equipment and set fire to the station in Hotan city in the Xinjiang region. When the attackers ran to the top floor, police opened fire on them, it said. While some state media have labeled the incident a terrorist attack, others have blamed it on rioters or thugs.