The Turkistan Islamic Movement released a 2nd video threatening to attack Olympic venues

The Turkistan Islamic Movement (TIM), which released a video in late July threatening to attack Olympic venues, has now issued another video to the same effect. The group warned Muslims to avoid all transportation, including trains, buses and aircraft, in relation to the Olympics. The video shows an explosion over an Olympic venue and a burning Olympics logo and justifies the jihad against China due to the mistreatment of Muslims in the country. Officials believe that the group has trained with al-Qaeda in Pakistan and that its main goal is to seek independence for the largely Muslim-populated Xinjiang. In response to the new threat, on 8 August officials in Urumqi, Xinjian’s provincial capital, shut down several public venues, including the local bazaar, due to concerns that the TIM would target public transportation. Areas surrounding mosques and popular Western food establishments, such as a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant, were closed off to the public. Unlike other cities in Xinjiang, Urumqi is largely populated with Han Chinese, who are seen as a target for terrorism in the region.