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Manhunt on for 'over 20 religious radicals' after shootout, attack on military HQ in Kazakhstan Police arrest, kill radical Islamist gang, after attack on military base in Kazakhstan
(about 5 hours later)
Three people were killed and 10 others injured by suspected Islamists, who stole weapons from gun shops and attacked a military base, the country’s Interior Ministry said. Earlier, local media reported firefights and mass evacuations in the city of Aktobe. Police have killed four terrorists, and arrested seven more, as a manhunt continues outside the Kazakh city of Aktobe. Earlier the attackers raided two gun shops, hijacked a bus and attacked a military base, killing at least five people and wounding ten more.
A shop manager and two soldiers were killed by the assailants, who targeted the city located in north-western Kazakhstan on Sunday, officials said. The people, including nine soldiers were injured in clashes. "We are currently conducting an operation to neutralize the rest of the attackers, who remain at large" an interior ministry spokesman told local TV.
“Thanks to the countermeasures one of the attackers was arrested, three killed and another one injured. Several of the perpetrators were blocked while some others managed to escape. A manhunt for them is underway,” ministry spokesman Almas Sadubayev told journalists.
The attackers first robbed two gun shops and then used the stolen weapons to attack a nearby base of the national guard, the report said.
Early on Sunday, attackers, who numbered at least 16 according to CCTV footage, robbed two gun shops and then forcibly boarded a taxi bus, and used the stolen weapons to attack a nearby base of the national guard.
After being pushed back in a firefight, the men boarded another vehicle, and attempted to drive out of the city of 300,000.
Police blockaded the roads, and there were media reports that armored vehicles were brought into the city. Firefights continued into the night.
The ministry said that the attackers were “followers of non-traditional religious sects,” a term used to describe radical Islamists.The ministry said that the attackers were “followers of non-traditional religious sects,” a term used to describe radical Islamists.
Local media reports suggested that there were from 20 to 30 gunman engaged in the shootout. Some media said the gunmen took several hostages.The website Tengrinews.kz put the number of casualties higher, citing medical sources as saying that some 20 people with gunshots were taken to the hospital.
Earlier, Kazakh media reported that a number of gunmen were engaged in a firefight with security troops in Aktobe, a city with some 300,000 residents. The police shut down shopping malls in the area, and internet access was restricted.
The police evacuated shopping malls in the area and said they were treating the emergency as a counter-terrorist operation.