BEIJING - Chinese police will start a year-long nationwide anti-terror operation, the Ministry of Public Security said Sunday.

The ministry asked police in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and in the rest of the country to cooperate and launch a strong and joint offensive against terrorism.

Xinjiang police announced the start of the campaign on Friday. According to them, the campaign will last until June 2015.

Police are urged to stop terrorists from striking again and prevent forces of terrorism and religious extremism from spreading from Xinjiang to the rest of the country.

Under a preemptive strategy, police nationwide will pool their information for early identification of terrorist groups and their members.

They will work with other government departments and communities to stem the source of terrorism, find out security loopholes and weak points.

Police will step up armed patrols and security control at crowded public places and tighten up management of explosives and weapons.

They will improve coordination among police departments in different regions, railway, civil aviation and transport sectors, in a bid to better investigate cases, hunt down suspects and handle emergencies.

The ministry also instructed local police to properly implement the policies on ethnic minorities. They should only target terrorists and religious extremists and protect legal rights and interests of ethnic minority people, the statement said.

They are also urged to improve the public awareness of anti-terrorism.

Xinjiang suffered several terrorist attacks lately. Three people were killed and 79 injured in an attack on April 30 at a railway station in Urumqi, the regional capital. An attack on a market in Urumqi left 39 dead and 94 injured on Thursday morning.