Taliban claim responsibility for killing Chinese national in Peshawar

Taliban claim murder was to avenge 'atrocities' committed by Chinese security forces against Xinjiang Muslims.

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: A spokesman for the Taliban has claimed responsibility for the murder of a Chinese citizen in Peshawar on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported on Thursday.

Taliban spokesman Mohammad Afridi said on Thursday that the woman had been targeted to avenge, what he said, were atrocities carried out by Chinese security forces against Muslims in the north western region of Xinjiang.

According to the report, Peshawar police chief Imtiaz Altaf believed that militants may have been behind the Tuesday shooting in which the Chinese woman and a local accompanying here had been killed. However, he maintained that no conclusions had been reached yet.

The Chinese Embassy, in a statement on Wednesday called on Pakistani authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident and to improve security for other Chinese citizens in Pakistan. They had also dispatched relevant consular staff to help investigations.