State Councilor Guo Shengkun said Xinjiang must unwaveringly pursue its campaign to crack down on terror.

Guo — who is also minister of public security — made the comments during his visit to Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region from Aug 1 to 4, aimed at discussing the region’s efforts to fight terrorism and maintain social stability.

Xinjiang started a yearlong special campaign against terror in May.

Guo said the region must implement the instructions given out by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, and by other leading members of the CPC Central Committee, and the region’s authorities should understand the complexity and seriousness of the fight against terror and the importance and urgency of strengthening anti-terror efforts.

During his stop in the region’s Shache county — where terrorists killed 37 people and wounded another 13 in an attack on July 28 — he said that “terrorism must be taken down without mercy”. Police have killed 59 terrorists and arrested 215 others involved in the attack.

Guo also said people in every village and every household should be mobilized in the fight to prevent and tackle terrorism. The local government should also improve its intelligence efforts and thus its ability to prevent — and give early warnings — about attacks, as well as its ability to handle any situation involving terrorists.

He added that — in the long term — the region should aim to root out extremism and any causes of terrorism.