China says fatal Xinjiang blast was intentional

URUMQI, China Aug 19 (Reuters) - An explosion that killed seven people in China's restive far western region of Xinjiang on Thursday was intentional, a government official said.

Police have arrested a Uighur suspect who drove a three-wheeled vehicle into a crowd of people in the southern Xinjiang city of Aksu, Xinjiang government spokeswoman Hou Hanmin told a news conference in regional capital Urumqi.

"Xinjiang's development will not be affected by a small group of bad people. The overall situation in Xinjiang is good," she said. (Reporting by Lucy Hornby; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Ken Wills)