Three in custody over China knife attack

The three remaining suspects involved in Saturday’s deadly mass knife attack in the Chinese city of Kunming have been captured, state media report.

Eight attackers burst into the south-western city’s railway station, stabbing people at random, leaving 29 dead and wounding more than 130.

Four attackers were shot dead by police at the scene, officials say. An injured female suspect was reportedly detained, BBC reports.

Officials have blamed separatists from the Xinjiang region for the attack.

Citing a statement from the Ministry of Public Security, Xinhua news agency said six men and two women, led by a person identified as Abdurehim Kurban, were responsible for the attack.

There were no details about how the suspects were identified and captured.

Officials say that evidence, such as insignia and flags about “East Turkestan”, points to the involvement of Uighur separatists from Xinjiang – a region in the far west of China bordering Central Asia.

China’s security chief, Meng Jianzhu, has vowed “all-out efforts” to “severely punish terrorists.”

Eyewitnesses described horrific scenes on Saturday, saying that in just 12 minutes attackers used curved swords and meat cleavers to stab people at random as they rampaged through the station.

A parking attendant at the scene, identified only by his surname, Chen, told Reuters news agency, “I saw five or six of them. They all had knives and they were stabbing people madly over by the first and second ticket offices.”

Chen Yugui, a hostel worker who was at the station during the attack, told the paper he saw more than 10 bodies lying on the ground.

“The smell of blood was in the air, and there were lots of people crying,” he said.

A memorial for the victims has been set up at Kunming station’s concourse.