Beijing, Feb 15 (IANS): At least eight persons, including three knife-wielding assailants, were killed in a knife attack in China's Xinjiang region, the authorities said on Wednesday.

In an online statement released by the authorities on Wednesday, the incident occurred on Tuesday evening in Pishan area of Xinjiang. It said the three attackers killed five persons and injured five others before they were shot dead by the police, Efe news reported.

Home to the Muslim Uighur minority, the region witnesses frequent clashes between them and the majority Han community.

The police said they are investigating the incident and that peace has been restored in the region.

China routinely calls these incidents terror attacks and blames the Uighur separatists for them, claiming they have links with foreign militant outfits.

But Uighur associations, based abroad, deny these charges and attribute the violence in Xinjiang to repression by the Chinese regime.