Beijing: A plane heading to the troubled Xinjiang region of China has received a bomb threat, according to the state official Xinhua news agency.

Initial reports suggested that the plane had been hijacked.

The agency added that aviation authorities have asked the airport in the city of Urumqi to stop the plane from landing.

Almost 200 people were killed in fierce clashes which took place in Xinjiang between Muslim Uighurs and the majority Han Chinese in July.