Beijing ( CNN ) -- Chinese authorities late Thursday dramatically revised upward the death toll of a violent incident they say occurred earlier in the week in Xinjiang , an ethnically divided region in China 's far west . According to state-run regional media portal Tianshan , 50 people , including 40 `` rioters , '' were shot dead by police or killed by a series of explosions . `` Police forces reacted decisively , '' said the report . The report did n't specify how many were killed by police . More than 50 civilians were injured during the blasts on Sunday evening , which police called a terrorist attack , according to Tianshan . The bombs hit two police stations , a shop and an open market frequented by ethnic minority Uyghurs . The dead included six civilians , two police officers and two auxiliaries , Tianshan said . The primary suspect behind the bombings was shot dead , police said . On Monday , state media claimed that just two people were killed in the explosions . It is unclear why more details were only released several days later . Local police refused to comment to CNN , saying the information surrounding the incident is `` confidential . '' The provincial government refused to provide more details . The violence occurred just two days before prominent Uyghur professor Ilham Tohti was found guilty of ' '' separatism '' by a Chinese court and sentenced to life in prison . Chinese authorities have stepped up security measures in Xinjiang following several recent attacks in the region , which has been the scene of ethnic strife between the indigenous Uyghurs , a mainly Turkic-speaking Muslim population , and Han Chinese . The Chinese government has blamed recent violent incidents in Xinjiang on Uyghur separatists seeking to establish an independent state . Waves of Han Chinese have flocked to the resource-rich region , fueling tensions with the Uyghurs , who regard themselves as culturally and ethnically closer the people of nations bordering western China , such as Kazakhstan , Mongolia , Pakistan and Afghanistan . Xinjiang is now home to more than eight million Han Chinese , up from 220,000 in 1949 , and 10 million Uyghurs . Unemployment among Uyghurs is high , and they complain of discrimination and harsh treatment by security forces .
Chinese authorities dramatically revise death toll in Xinjiang violence . State media said 50 people were killed , up from two previously . Police said there was a string of terrorist bombings that led to some deaths . The region has seen several attacks due to ethnic strife .