KUNMING, China (AP) — China says the vicious slashing spree that killed 29 people in a southern city was the work of separatists linked to international terrorism, but the assailants’ homespun methods and low-tech weapons — nothing more than long knives — have led some analysts to suspect they didn’t get outside help.

Officials have blamed secessionists from far-western Xinjiang for Saturday’s attack at a train station in Kunming, more than 1,500 kilometers (900 miles) to the southeast. It is by far the deadliest attack blamed on Xinjiang militants to have taken place outside the region, and has been a wake-up call for Chinese that terrorism can strike anywhere.