BEIJING - Two military officers from Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia have been expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the army, the CPC's top anti-graft body said Tuesday.

The two officers are Zhang Genheng, former head of the frontier army regiment under Xinjiang's public security bureau, and Li Wenli, former director of the military service office of the Inner Mongolia regional public security department.

They were found to have "severely violated Party discipline" and are suspected of accepting bribes, according to a statement published on the website of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI).

It said Zhang and Li took advantage of their positions to help others gain promotions in the army and seek other benefits. Li was also found to have been involved in gambling.

Their cases have been transferred to judicial organs.

The CCDI said 20 other military officers from Beijing, Jiangsu, Shaanxi, Shanghai and Hebei have been punished for "disciplinary violations."

In one case, Yin Zhishan, former deputy director of the guard bureau under the Ministry of Public Security, was removed from his post and reduced to the rank of senior colonel from major general, among other punishments.