Uighur leader fears China's 'iron fist' after knife attack

Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer delivers a speech in front of a East Turkestan flag at the fourth General Assembly of the World Uighur Congress (WUC) in Tokyo May 14, 2012. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Chinese authorities are likely to further crack down on dissent in the restive Xinjiang region after a bloody train station knife attack that Beijing blames on militants, an exiled Uighur leader said on Tuesday.

China says separatists from the far western region launched the attack last Saturday, killing at least 29 people and wounding about 140. Police shot dead four of the assailants.