The attack on the Urumqi street market in far northwest China killed at least 31 people and left more than 90 with injuries.  The coordinated strikes on both ends of the open air market by men tossing explosives from speeding SUVs marks an escalation of tactics by ethnic Uighur separatists.

Prior to this, attacks in Xianjiang and in cities in other parts of China have involved men with knives and Molotov cocktails.  At first they targeted police outposts, and then crowded train stations.  Now, it seems the goal is as many civilian casualties as possible, no matter how cowardly.

“It was mostly old women,” said Aygul, a convenience store clerk in Urumqi who was just starting her shift yesterday morning next to the market in the Shayibake District.  She said the street was covered with vegetables and human bodies.  “A lot of them weren’t moving,” she added.

The state run Xinhua news agency said President Xi Jinping promised to “severely punish” the terrorists responsible.  Police are looking for two Uighur men in their 20s who were seen leaving the area. 

In 2009, rioting between Uighurs and Han Chinese left at least 200 people dead.  The Shayibake attack is the deadliest incident since then.