2 people killed, many injured in China's Xinjiang blasts

A series of explosions in northwest China's Muslim-majority Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region killed two people and injured a number of others, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Monday.
The regional government website said the blasts happened Sunday evening in several locations in Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, according to Xinhua.
The injured were rushed to hospital, it said, adding that authorities are investigating the case and normal order has resumed in the areas. It gave no further details.
Terrorist attacks have increased in Xinjiang in recent years and have targeted places outside Xinjiang. In July, 37 civilians dead and 94 injured in a terrorist attack in Xinjiang's Kashgar Prefecture.
Also in May, 39 innocent people were killed and more than 90 injured in another terrorist attack in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang.
About 41.5 percent of Xinjiang's 21 million population are Uygurs, a largely Muslim ethnic group.
Located in a volatile region, Xinjiang has been battling separatism, extremism and terrorism since China took control of the area in 1949. During its most deadly unrest in decades, 197 people were killed and about 1,700 others injured in the July 2009 riot.