Xinjiang police released photos and a report on Friday detailing a dramatic 56-day manhunt following the September attack in Aksu which killed 16 people, including five police.

The official reports broke weeks of official silence around the latest bout of violence to afflict China's troubled far-west, and follows strong condemnation by Chinese leaders of the Paris attacks and the execution of a Chinese national held hostage by Islamic State. They came after a report on Friday said 17 people had been killed by police in the operation.

The release of information has been seen by analysts as evidence of Beijing's intention to demonstrate it is a victim of violent extremism; and as justification for its hardline policies in Xinjiang.

Beijing has repeatedly accused Western governments and foreign media outlets of peddling double standards by failing to characterise violent attacks on innocent Chinese as terrorism, including a frenzied mass-knifing at a railway station in Kunming in March last year. Perpetrated by alleged Uighur Muslim separatists, the attacks left 29 dead and more than 140 injured.

"You've seen a new level of public engagement with the terrorism issue post the Paris attacks," James Leibold, a Xinjiang expert and senior lecturer at La Trobe University, said. "Clearly they're trying to garner some sympathy for China's policies and control over Xinjiang."

Commenting on the Paris attacks last weekend, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, said China too was a "victim of terrorism", and that its fight against the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, should become an "important part of the international fight against terrorism".

"Double standard shouldn't be allowed," he said.

While Friday's official reports on the September attacks in Aksu did not refer specifically to its perpetrators beyond that they were "directed by foreign forces", China has long accused ETIM of organising attacks on its soil and of having links to al-Qaeda.

But foreign security experts have questioned the extent of those links, and Uighur rights activists say unrest in the region has been precipitated and continually worsened by the Communist Party's discriminatory policies which impinge on their religious freedoms.

Information on violence in Xinjiang is difficult to independently verify, with authorities oftenreleasing only partial information after lengthy delays.

"There's no question that terrorist attacks against civilians must be answered firmly," well-known Chinese commentator Chang Ping wrote in a piece addressing China's anger at double standards in the Western media. "But this does not mean that the ethnic policies of China's government immune from criticism."

Beijing's Uighur policies have drawn explicit threats from IS's leaders. And the execution of Fan Jinghui​ – the first known killing of a Chinese national by the terrorist group – has prompted questions over whether China would be drawn into playing a greater international role in combatting IS.

But Mathieu Duchatel, a China specialist with the European Council on Foreign Relations, said China was unlikely to alter its strategy of non-interference in the Middle East to avoid becoming a bigger target.

Li Wei, head of security and anti-terrorism research at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said China was more likely to play a "more active diplomatic role" in the Syrian peace process.

"I don't see any possibility for China to join the international coalition in air-striking the group in any near future," he said.

But the tougher rhetoric against domestic terrorism was likely to further polarise Uighurs living in Xinjiang.

"Without a doubt there's going to be increased security controls on Uighurs," Dr Leibold said.

"Essentially you're going to get a creation of further polarisation of Xinjiang society."

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