Police in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region apprehended two suspects for spreading rumors of a terrorist attack in Shache county in Kashgar Prefecture on Sunday.

The rumors have been circulating on messaging application WeChat and other Internet forums over the past few days, said regional authorities.

Police have tracked down a suspect surnamed Sun in Kashgar and another surnamed Jiao in the Hami region. The two have confessed to the alleged misconduct.

Shache has been hard hit by two terrorist attacks this year. A gang of terrorists with knives and axes killed 37 civilians in an attack on July 28.

Another attack in Shache county on November 29 saw 15 people, including 11 mobsters, killed and another 14 people injured.