Dozens killed in China blasts

A series of explosions struck a market Thursday in the capital of the volatile western Chinese region of Xinjiang, killing 31 people and wounding more than 90 others, state media reported.

China’s Ministry of Public Security said the attack was “a serious violent terrorist incident” and vowed to crack down on its perpetrators.

Two SUVs plowed into people gathered at the open market in Urumqi at 7:50 a.m., and explosives were thrown out of the vehicles, China’s official news agency Xinhua said.

One of the SUVs then exploded, according to Xinhua, which cited a witness in the market who said he heard a dozen big bangs.

Images circulating on social media showed flames and smoke billowing out from the end of a tree-lined street guarded by police officers. Other pictures showed wounded people being carried away from the scene of the blasts.

All of the wounded have been taken to several hospitals in the area, Xinhua reported, citing police

.

The attack at the market comes less than a month after an explosion hit a train station in Urumqi, killing three people and wounding 79 others.

That blast, described as a terrorist attack by Chinese authorities, took place on April 30, just after Chinese President Xi Jinping had wrapped up a visit to the restive region.

Chinese officials have linked a mass knife attack in March that killed 29 people at a train station in the southwestern city of Kunming to Islamic separatists from Xinjiang.