Australians taken hostage in China freed

Police shot and killed a man armed with explosives who took 10 Australians hostage on a tourist bus Wednesday in northern China, a state news agency reported.

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Thursday that the hijacker's motives were not known. "There is no indication this was particularly aimed at Australia or Australians," he told Australia's Nine Network television.

China is normally a safe destination for tourists, but more problems have arisen recently, especially robberies of foreigners.

The official Xinhua News Agency, citing local police, said a man identified as Xia Tao hijacked the bus in the popular tourist city of Xi'an. The agency said he was armed with explosives and was fatally shot by police after a standoff lasting almost three hours.

Janaline Oh, a spokeswoman at the Australian embassy, said nine hostages had been released early in the incident. She said that the 10th hostage, a 48-year-old woman from New South Wales, was not immediately released and that Chinese police had to intervene to rescue her.

Smith said some of the hostages were treated for minor medical conditions.

"I understand there were some minor physical issues, very minor, but it was more shock and the horror of being involved in such a terrible situation," he said, adding that they were planning to return to Australia later Thursday.

Police in China have resorted to firing their weapons in other hostage situations.

Last June, police in Shanghai fatally shot a man who was holding a young child hostage at a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant. In June 2005, police in Xi'an shot and killed a hostage-taker.

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Associated Press Writer Audra Ang in Beijing contributed to this report.