BEIJING — Chinese police shot dead dozens of knife-wielding attackers on Monday morning after they staged assaults on two towns in the westerly Xinjiang region, the official Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday, citing local police.

It said a gang armed with knives had first attacked a police station and government offices in the town of Elixku, in Shache county, and some then moved on to the nearby town of Huangdi, attacking civilians and smashing and setting fire to vehicles.

Xinjiang, home to many Turkic-speaking Uighurs, has for years been beset by violence, which the government blames on Islamist militants or separatists who it says are bent on establishing an independent state called East Turkestan.

It was not clear why the attack was only being reported on Tuesday, more than a day after it took place.