Chinese special forces used a FLAMETHROWER to force a group of suspected Islamist terrorists from their hiding place and then shot them dead as they came out.

Heavily-armed officers from the nation's elite fighting force drafted in the fire-spewing weapon after tracking the 10 terror suspects to a cave in western Xinjiang.

The group, who are thought to have been Islamist militants and were part of a mob of 28 the squad killed or arrested, were cowering inside the cave in Aksu, in September, refusing to come out.

According to reports in China, the officers attempted to get the group out by using flash grenades and tear gas but when that failed they called in the flamethrower.

(Image: Reuters)

After blasting the cave, the terror suspects are reported to have come running out brandishing knives and running towards the forces - but were cut down with gun fire and "completely annihilated".

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In its account, which could not be independently verified, the official People's Liberation Army Daily said armed police had tracked the attackers into the mountains "like eagles discovering their prey".

(Image: CEN)

(Image: CEN)

China's government says it faces a serious threat from Islamist militants and separatists in energy-rich Xinjiang, on the border of central Asia, where hundreds have died in violence in recent years.

Rights groups say China has never presented convincing evidence of the existence of a cohesive militant group fighting the government. Much of the unrest, they argue, is due to frustration at controls on the culture and religion of the Muslim Uighur people who live in Xinjiang.

(Image: CEN)

(Image: CEN)

Beijing vehemently denies accusations of rights abuses, though independent verification of the situation in Xinjiang is hard because of tight government controls on visits by foreign reporters.

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In a statement in response to the PLA Daily report, Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for exile group the World Uyghur Congress, said: "The Paris attacks gave China a political excuse to brazenly use flamethrowers to clamp down on unarmed Uighurs who have no just legal protection and who seek to avoid arrest."

(Image: CEN)

(Image: CEN)

Senior Chinese officials have increasingly described the security challenges in Xinjiang as an important front in the global fight against terrorism.

Western nations, however, have been reluctant to cooperate in China's anti-terrorism campaign there, nervous about being implicated in possible rights abuses.