At least 18 police were killed in Xinjiang, China, following an attack at a police checkpoint in Kashgar City's Tahtakoruk district Monday.

Uighurs, a Muslim minority in China, is believed to be the group responsible for the police attack in Xinjiang, which reportedly involved knives and bombs after suspects sped in a car through the checkpoint, according to US-based Radio Free Asia Wednesday.

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Fifteen suspects, "designated as terrorists" in the Xinjiang, China police attack, were killed by armed police, reported Radio Free Asia, citing Officer Turghun Memet at a nearby police station.

Kashgar's hospital workers told BBC that some of the injured police have already received medical treatment.

The Uighur minority have determined the region their home. In recent years, the Chinese government has stopped the group from observing Ramadan, a period of fasting and considered as one of Islam's five pillars.

The attack comes at the start of Ramadan, and many suggest that a possible motive for the police attack in Xinjiang could be the tight restrictions China has placed on Ramadan.

Over the past three years, there have been frequent unrest between the national majority Han Chinese and the ethnic minority Uighurs in Xinjiang, killing hundreds in the process, reported BBC.

According to the Uighurs and human rights activists, Beijing is provoking unrest due to repression of their religious and cultural tradition.

Beijing denies the claims, insisting that the attacks were imposed by Islamic terrorists supported by groups abroad.

The Xinjiang government has refused to comment on the Xinjiang police attack.

Overseas media reports of such incidents, but they are frequently not confirmed by the Chinese government, reported The Guardian.

Lu Kang, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman, has not immediately verified the reports on the Xinjiang police attack.

"But if it is correct, then the Chinese government has the responsibility to take resolute steps to stop these kinds of violent terror acts, to maintain peace and stability in Xinjiang," said Lu.

The Communist Party in China said that it protects religious freedom in the country; however, activities concerning religion have been placed on tight restrictions, and only officially recognized institutions were allowed to operate, according to Reuters.

There are around 20 million Muslims in China, and Uighurs consist only a mere portion of them. Forty-five percent of Xinjiang's population are Uighurs.

TagsXinjiang china attack, Xinjiang, china attack, Xinjiang attack, Uighurs, Islam, terrorists