China foils Olympic 'terrorist attack'

China says it has thwarted a planned terrorist attack on the Beijing Olympics, AFP reported, citing state media. State media reports quoted officials at the National People’s Congress as saying police officers had killed two militants and arrested 15 in northwest Xinjiang region in late January during a raid. Wang Lequan, Xinjiang’s Communist Party chief, said that "the gang had planned an attack targeting the Olympics." In a separate case, state media also reported that authorities had foiled an attempted terrorist attack on a passenger jet flying from Urumqi to Beijing. Reports said a China Southern Airlines plane was forced to land in Lanzhou, Gansu province after what appeared to be a hijacking attempt.