A terrorist attack at a food market in western China's Xinjiang region has left 15 people dead and another 14 injured, according to Chinese state media reports.

The violence reportedly broke out Friday afternoon when a group of "mobsters"  - as described by Chinese state media - attacked civilians on a public street in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.

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The attackers threw bombs out of a vehicle before they stabbed people on a street that was lined with food stalls, according to Xinhua, China's state-run news agency.

Xinjiang is home to the Muslim Uighur minority group, and has been the site of numerous terrorist attacks in recent years. China has blamed the ongoing unrest on Uighurs pushing for the region's independence. Meanwhile, the World Uighur Congress blames the violence on "continued suppression and provocation" by Chinese authorities in the region.

In June of 2013 at least 35 people were killed in violence between Chinese police and ethnic Uighurs, which was the deadliest outbreak of violence in the region since 2009.

A group of 17 knife-wielding Uighur men reportedly attacked a police station and government building. Chinese authorities called the event a terrorist attack, and blamed separatists and overseas forces for fomenting tensions.

And just two months before that an ethnic clash between Muslim Uighurs and Han Chinese killed 21 people, including 15 police officers.

In 2012, six men attempted to hijack a Tianjin Airlines flight from Hotan to Urumqi, Xinjiang. The men reportedly sought to gain access to cockpit, but were stopped by passengers and crew. A spokesperson for the Xinjiang government said the men were ethnic Uighurs.

China is enforcing a security crackdown in Xinjiang, according to the BBC, and Uighur activists say that they are being incited by the government's repression of their culture and religious customs. Earlier this week, Chinese authorities announced plans to hire 3,000 former soldiers to patrol residential areas in the region.

TagsTerrorist Attack in China Kills 15 Injures 14, Xinjiang, Islam, muslim minority, mobsters