In brief: Chinese police kill eight ‘terrorists’

BEIJING – Authorities in western China said Monday that police fatally shot eight “terrorists” who had attacked them using knives and explosives in the latest in a string of violent incidents in the ethnically tense region.

The Xinjiang government news portal Tianshan Net said the group of nine attacked officers and burned police cars in Shache county.

It was the latest in a series of attacks pointing to growing unrest in the large sprawling region of Xinjiang, home to a simmering rebellion against Chinese rule among parts of the native Muslim Uighur population who want more autonomy from Beijing.

Xinjiang is home to about 9 million Uighurs, who make up less than half of the population of Xinjiang, which they used to dominate. Many complain that they have been marginalized by policies favoring migrants from China’s ethnic Han majority.

Four journalists arrested in Egypt

CAIRO – Four journalists working for Al-Jazeera have been arrested by Egyptian authorities, the pan-Arab satellite channel said on its website, in an apparent escalation of Egyptian authorities’ harsh campaign against the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Interior Ministry, in a statement cited by regional news outlets, said the men were accused of making reports harmful to national security and possessing Muslim Brotherhood publications. It did not identify them by name but specified their nationalities.

Lebanon opens fire on Syrian jets

BEIRUT – Lebanon responded with anti-aircraft fire Monday against Syrian jets that launched an airstrike on a Lebanese border town that is home to many supporters of the rebellion against Syrian President Bashar Assad, Lebanese media reported.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency said the army opened fire on the Syrian jets after a rocket attack near the eastern Sunni Muslim town of Arsal.

Arsal houses 30,000 Syrian refugees, and its population is known to back the opposition rebels fighting to topple Assad. The town is on a key route used to supply food and weapons to rebels near the central Syrian province of Homs.