China foiled a bid to cause an air disaster on a passenger jet en route to Beijing and the plane made a safe emergency landing, an official said on Sunday, in what state media called an attempted terrorist attack. In a separate comment, a top official said Sunday that suspected “terrorists” killed in a raid in northwest China's Muslim-dominated Xinjiang region earlier this year had been planning an attack on the Olympics. The official Xinhua news agency said authorities had “foiled a planned terrorist attack.” “Fortunately our air crew took resolute measures, discovered and put a stop to this action promptly. All the passengers, crew and the aircraft are safe,” the governor said, adding the flight finally arrived in Beijing Saturday. A source with knowledge of the incident said at least two passengers on flight CZ6901 have been taken into custody for questioning. The source, who requested anonymity, said inflammable material was found in the plane's toilet. Two militants were killed and 15 arrested in the Jan. 27 raid in Urumqi, capital of the vast region bordering several Central Asian republics, according to the official Chinese account. China also says five police officers were wounded in the raid when three homemade grenades were thrown at them. “Obviously, the gang had planned an attack targeting the Olympics,” added Wang Lequan, Xinjiang's Communist Party chief, linking the raid for the first time to the Aug. 8-24 Games being held in Beijing. Xinjiang is home to 8 million Muslim Uighurs. __
