Chinese state media reported Dec. 23 that Muslim separatist leader Hasan Mahsum — sought by authorities in Beijing in connection with a string of bombings and assassinations in the Muslim Xinjiang region — was killed during a counterterrorism operation in Pakistan. Mahsun's death at the hands of foreign soldiers is a major propaganda victory for Beijing as it seeks to gain international support for its campaign against ethnic Uighur separatists within China. Mahsun allegedly was the founder and leader of the Eastern Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a group that Washington placed on its list of terrorist organizations in 2002 and one of four ethnic Uighur separatist groups recently highlighted by Chinese media. According to Chinese authorities, ETIM is responsible for more than 200 attacks in the country's Xinjiang region since 1990 and has ties to al Qaeda.