IOC says it trusts China security following attack

Two police officers open a unattended bag at terminal 3 of Beijing airport August 4, 2008. Police in China's Xinjiang said a deadly grenade assault on Monday morning, four days before the start of the Beijing Olympics, was a "suspected terrorist" attack, state media reported.(Photo/Reuters)

The International Olympic Committee had no comment on Monday's suspected terrorist attack in northwest China, but expressed trust authorities were doing all they could to make the Games safe.

"We can't give you an immediate reaction," IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies told AFP when asked to comment on the raid on a police station in China's Xinjiang region that Chinese state media said left 16 policemen dead.

"But as far as the Games are concerned, we trust the authorities are doing everything humanly possible to ensure a safe and secure event."

When asked whether Chinese authorities had informed the IOC of the reported raid, Davies said: "We shouldn't automatically make any link to the Games. If the authorities decide it is necessary to brief us, they will."

China's official Xinhua news agency said two people armed with hand grenades raided a police station in Xinjiang on Monday in what was a suspected terrorist attack.

China has previously warned repeatedly that militants in Xinjiang, which has a strong Muslim population, were planning to stage attacks on the Beijing Games, which start on Friday.

(Agencies)