Claims that ETIM has ties to al-Qaeda, Usama bin Laden, and the Taliban persist.  Many reputable sources debate whether or not al-Qaeda has provided the group with training and financial assistance.  The US Department of State, in its 2005 report on terrorism, states that ETIM is "linked to al-Qaida and the international jihadist movement" and that al-Qaeda has provided ETIM with "training and financial assistance".  Another US government website reports that one ETIM leader was killed in a raid on al-Qaeda safehouses in Pakistan.  The Chinese government has been known to exaggerate the connection between ETIM and al-Qaeda to enlist the support of the United States in endorsing China's social control tactics in Xinjiang. It is likely that members of ETIM have had contact with al-Qaeda elements, but no high-level contacts have been established. As far as the group's strength is concerned, ETIM has been described as a small terrorist operation and the group demonstrates limited allegiance among the ethnic Uygurs of the Xinjiang province.  Furthermore, China shows absolutely no signs of acquiescing to any of ETIM's terrorist demands.  In fact, the Xinjiang province is important to China both for its strategic location and its abundant natural resources.  <P><br /><br />The Chinese government alleges that ETIM is comprised of eight major factions, which are committed to terrorist attacks in the name of an Eastern Turkistan Islamic state: Central Asian Uygur Hezbollah (Kazakhstan), East Turkistan Liberation Organization (ETLO), Eastern Turkistan International Committee, <br />Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (Afghanistan), Eastern Turkistan Islamic Resistance Movement (Turkey), Eastern Turkistan Youth League (Switzerland), Turkistan Party (Pakistan), and the United Committee of Uygurs' Organizations (Central Asia). It is unclear whether or not most of these are actual terrorist groups, and if so whether or not these are actual factions of ETIM. ETLO is known to be a terrorist group that supports ETIM's cause and could possibly be an ally of ETIM's as well. ETIM has been implicated in terrorist plots against US interests in the Central Asia region, including a foiled plot to attack the US Embassy in Kyrgyzstan.<br />