The article misses an important aspect of this coordinated attack, one that is alongside the article's editorial aspect. Xinjiang is in westernmost China. The several western provinces have large "minority" populations ("minority" in the context of the overall population of China). Many of those ethnic minorities are ... Muslim. And unrest and separatism have been a large problem in western China. On the other side of the coin, the national government of China is rather racist. They favor Han Chinese, even over ethnic groups many westerners would not recognize as different. The government of China has treated many ethnic minorities (not just Muslims) like @#$%.
I'm not justifying these (probable) Muslim separatists, just giving context. China also treats Buddhist Tibetans like @#$%, and in Tibet, even worse.