Bombers kill 16 in west China ahead of Games

By Chris Buckley and Andrew Cawthorne

BEIJING (Reuters) - Suspected Muslim separatists with homemade bombs killed 16 police in western China on Monday, state media said, reporting one of the worst attacks by militants on Chinese soil just four days before the Olympics.

The attack, about 4,000 km (2,500 miles) from the capital in the old Silk Road city of Kashgar, was a reminder of internal tensions in China, especially in its largely Muslim west.

Police had warned ethnic Uighur separatists were planning attacks in the run-up to the Games. They said they arrested the two attackers in Kashgar and identified them as Uighurs.

China's President Hu Jintao told a meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) the Games would display the desire of the world's most populous country to join with the rest of the planet in "building a bright future".

The Beijing Organizing Committee of the Games said it was sure athletes and spectators would be safe, while the IOC also reassured millions of visitors and more than 10,000 athletes taking part in what it called a "landmark event".

"The IOC is confident the Chinese authorities have done everything possible to ensure the security and safety of everyone at the Games," it said in a statement.

About 100,000 police and soldiers are on standby ahead of Friday's opening ceremony, and security has been stepped up in Tiananmen Square, scene of the 1989 pro-democracy uprising, with all visitors' bags being screened.

American swimming phenomenon Michael Phelps slipped into town to begin an Olympic adventure that could end with him breaking Mark Spitz's record of seven golds in one Olympics.

The lanky 23-year-old eluded female fans and a media scrum in the arrivals hall at Beijing's vast new international airport terminal, entering the country through a side door.

Phelps won six gold and two bronze medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics and will get a $1 million bonus from sponsor Speedo if he can equal compatriot Spitz's haul from the 1972 Munich Games.

There is a strong sense of excitement in the city, but the number of foreign visitors has been disappointing. Hotels said they were slashing room prices by as much as half because reservations have fallen far short of expectations.

TICKET SCAM

People are thought to have shied away because of visa restrictions and bad publicity about China. Thousands more fans had their hopes of coming dashed after being swindled by an international Internet scam offering bogus tickets.

The IOC said it was taking action to shut down the fraudsters, but it was too late to help victims from the United States, China, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Norway and Britain, including relatives of some athletes.

The IOC said it filed a lawsuit in California against six Web sites last Friday, but a U.S. lawyer who said he had lost $12,000 in the scam accused Olympic officials of complacency.