The agency said one policeman, a security guard and two hostages were killed. It said a number of hostages were taken to hospital.


Xinjiang in the past has been the scene of violent clashes between ethnic Han Chinese and its native Uighur population. The Chinese government says almost 200 people were killed during ethnic rioting in the region in 2009.


The Associated Press quoted a spokesman for the World Uyghur Congress based in Germany saying he was told that the rioting began after police fired on a demonstration against illegal land seizures.


The spokesman said more than 100 Uighurs had gathered to protest the seizures and to seek information about relatives who disappeared after the 2009 riots.

Rioting in Xinjiang Claims at Least 4 Lives