Beijing - Police in China's far western region of Xinjiang have arrested 82 suspected terrorists in five groups this year after they "allegedly plotted sabotage against the Beijing Olympics," state media said on Thursday.

The official Xinhua news agency said the new figure was announced by Chen Zhuangwei, the police chief in the regional capital of Urumqi, at a conference on Olympic security in the city on Wednesday.

No details of the arrests were given in the brief report, which follows earlier reports of police raids on at least three suspected terrorist groups in Xinjiang this year.

Police in Xinjiang shot dead five "holy warriors" who were allegedly resisting arrest on Tuesday, the agency reported on Wednesday.

The government said in April that it had foiled plots by two terrorist groups led by Uighurs in Xinjiang, including a plan to kidnap foreigners and carry out suicide bombings during the Olympics.

It has also accused some Tibetans of terrorist attacks following widespread anti-Chinese protests and rioting in March and April.

But Uighur and Tibetan exile groups have accused China of using terrorism claims as an excuse for a broad crackdown on dissent in Xinjiang and Tibet in the run-up to the Olympics.

China deported a British-born Tibetan woman on Tuesday after accusing her of unspecified "illegal activities" while living in Beijing.

"She is a key member of the ethnic separatist organization the Tibetan Youth Congress," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said on Thursday.

China has accused the Tibetan Youth Congress, which is run by Tibetan exiles in India, of "violent terrorist activities."

On Tuesday, the government ordered tighter security checks at airports in Xinjiang and Tibet, plus more than a dozen other cities. (dpa)