This BBC article makes clear what happened, but only indirectly. The uninformed and hurried may read this account and have no idea that this was one more skirmish in a global war.

“China knife attack: Eight dead in Xinjiang region,” BBC, February 15, 2017:

Eight people are dead after a knife attack in China’s restive Xinjiang region.

Three assailants killed five people and injured 10 others before they were shot dead by police on Tuesday in Pishan county, local officials said.

No motive was given, but the government often blames Muslim separatists for such attacks.

Xinjiang, an autonomous region, is home to China’s Uighur ethnic minority, which is predominantly Muslim.

The region has suffered years of unrest.

Rights groups say the violence is due to the tight controls by the government on the religion and culture of Uighurs. The government denies any repression.

A statement posted on the local government website called the attackers “thugs”. It said police were on the scene within minutes….

Dilxat Raxit, of the exiled World Uyghur Congress, told the Agence France-Presse news agency that six people had been arrested, including two young Uighurs who shared information about the incident.