China Removes Military Chief Following Tiananmen Incident

Deadly crash blamed on Islamic militants

China's ruling Communist Party has removed the military chief of Xinjiang from the province's governing council following a deadly car crash in Beijing's Tiananmen Square blamed on Islamist militants from Xinjiang.

The official Xinjiang Daily reported Sunday that Peng Yong was being replaced after more than two years on the job. The newspaper did not give a reason for the dismissal, but it came after last Monday's incident in Beijing.

On Saturday, Chinese state media released more details about what they called a terrorist attack in Tiananmen Square carried out by militant Uighurs—a mainly Muslim ethnic group in western China.