BEIJING
A court in China executed three men on Tuesday for leading an attack on a train station that left 31 dead.
State news agency Xinhua reported that the trio had previously been sentenced to death for murder, along with organizing and leading a "terrorist" organization.
On March 1, 2014, a group armed with knives randomly attacked people at the station in Kunming, the capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province
Along with the 31 people killed, another 141 were injured.
Four of the attackers were shot dead by police, and a pregnant female suspect was wounded, captured, and has since been sentenced to life in prison.
The Kunming Intermediate People's Court said that Iskandar Ehet, Turgun Tohtunyaz and Hasayn Muhammad - all from the from the far western region of Xinjiang - were executed Tuesday upon approval by the Supreme People's Court.
Xinhua said that they were arrested while planning to illegally cross the Chinese border Feb. 27, 2014 - two days before the attacks
A yearlong "anti-terrorism’’ campaign -- focusing on Xinjiang, home to the Muslim Uighur group -- was launched by China’s central government on May 23 and will be in effect until June 2015.
Uighur, a Turkic group which constitute around 45 percent of the population of Xinjiang, have accused China of carrying out repressive policies that restrain their religious, commercial and cultural activities.
