Man who seized Australians slain
Police shot and killed a man armed with explosives who took 10 Australians hostage on a tourist bus in northern China, the official New China News Agency reported.
The news agency, citing local police, said a man identified as Xia Tao hijacked the bus in the popular tourist city of Xian. The agency said he was shot after a standoff lasting almost three hours.
Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said the hijacker’s motives were not known. “There is no indication this was particularly aimed at Australia or Australians,” he told Australia’s Nine Network television.
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