KUQA, China - Soldiers with machine guns guarded the sidewalks and police yelled at residents who tried to leave their homes in China's restive Muslim territory Sunday, hours after officers battled bomb-tossing assailants in the second daring attack in a week in the region far from the Beijing Olympics.

Turkestan Islamic Party took credit for a number of bombings dating back to May 5 in Shanghai. Chinese officials, however, have denied their involvement, citing no evidence to back up the claim.

This tale was splattered across media websites within hours of its first appearance. It seems to have all the marks of the airline hi-jacking and the earlier gang raid in Urumqi i.e. no evidence. The timing is very handy too.

Writers at The New Dominion were able to view the video which started making rounds among Uyghur independence sites showing the execution of 3 Chinese citizens. While an actual Uyghur connection to the hostage event is practically nonexistent, there is still much significance in that the video was deliberately aimed at a Uyghur audience.

Riding on the coattails of the Tibet riots a few weeks ago, Xinjiang is now hitting international news outlets because of protests in Khotan. The New Dominion looks at the flawed perspective the media provides when it elects to analyze Xinjiang through the Tibet lens, by considering historical, cultural, and geographical factors.