Chiese authorities have denied the claims by a Uygur separatist group that it took credit for a series of attacks in different Chinese cities, including a deadly bus explosion in Shanghai.

Shanghai police reiterated on Saturday that the May 5 bus blast in the city had nothing to do with "terrorist attacks." Shanghai is a co-host city of the summer Olympics.

An investigation showed that the blast, which killed three people and injured 12, was caused by inflammables such as oil, said Cheng Jiulong, Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau deputy head.

"The blast was indeed deliberate but had nothing to do with terrorist attacks," he said.

Two of the dead were local female residents. Police have yet to confirm the identity of the male victim.

Cheng did not provide further details about the latest development of the case.

A group calling itself the Turkistan Islamic Party released a video threatening next month's Beijing Olympic Games, according to AFP and Reuter. They also claimed responsibility for several attacks, including the deadly bus explosions in Shanghai and Kunming in the southwestern Yunnan Province on Monday.

(Xinhua News Agency July 26, 2008)