AKIPRESS.COM - Nine people have been sentenced to death on terrorism charges in China's north-western region of Xinjiang.

State TV said they were among 81 people found guilty by courts in the region. It said another 29 "terror suspects" were detained in Urumqi on Thursday.

Last week 55 people were sentenced for terrorism, separatism and murder at a show trial in Xinjiang.

Chinese officials have blamed militant Uighur groups for a growing number of violent attacks across the country.

These include an attack in Beijing, where a car ploughed into pedestrians in Tiananmen Square, killing five people, and attacks at railway stations in Urumqi and Kunming.

In May 39 people were killed when five suicide bombers attacked a street market in Urumqi, Xinjiang's capital, BBC said.

China says it is pouring money into the Xinjiang region, but some Uighurs say their traditions and freedoms are being crushed.