Following the terror attack on a busy commercial street in China's Xinjiang, the local government said it would hire 3,000 former soldiers to boost security there.

The attack on Friday left 15 people dead after a gang threw explosives and slashed people who were dining or shopping in the area.

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BBC reports that the former soldiers will be carefully selected based on their political views. They must be below 30 years old, left the army within the past 12 months and show proof they do not support separatism and illegal religious activities.

Four of the dead were victims of the gang, while the remaining 11 were gang members shot dead by the police. Another 14 people were hurt in the terror attack in which the gang members used hatchets, broadswords and detonation devices.

There are no sufficient details about the terror attack, except that authorities are still investigating the incident, which would likely be blamed on the quest for independence from China by ethnic Uighur separatists and Islamic group for Xinjiang. They want to form their own country to be called East Turkestan.

The region has become notorious for such attacks in recent years that have caused hundreds of deaths. In July, 38 people died in Shache County when attackers hacked people. Twelve of the attackers were sentenced to death by a court in October.

However, the Uyghur American Association questioned the reports on the July incident that said the attackers, armed with knives and axes, were targeting the majority Hans Chinese. The U.S.-based association claimed that what really happened was that the police fired on residents who were protesting the security crackdown on Islamic followers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in which more than 20 died.

In the last six months, 175 deaths were recorded by Chinese state media in Xinjiang spread over eight incidents, reports the Associated Press.

As a result of the growing unrest, the Xinjiang People's Congress approved on Friday a resolution that prohibited people from wearing clothes or logos linked with religious extremism.

Tagsstreet attack, violence, Xinjiang