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Kazakhstan: Three police and civilian killed in 'Islamist' Almaty gun attack | |
(about 5 hours later) | |
Gunmen who killed three policemen and a member of the public in Kazakhstan on Monday may have been Islamist militants, the president has said. | |
Nursultan Nazarbayev called the shootings in the commercial capital Almaty a terrorist act and the terror threat level has been raised. | |
The interior ministry said one 27-year-old suspect had been detained but an accomplice was still at large. | |
A Reuters news agency report suggests the death toll may be as high as six. | |
Monday's attack comes a month after a deadly assault by suspected Islamist militants in the north-western town of Aktobe. | |
Oil-rich Kazakhstan has also recently seen rare protests and violent acts by people angry at proposed land reforms. | |
Two gunmen attacked a police station in central Almaty, killing the three police officers in an exchange of fire, police said. | Two gunmen attacked a police station in central Almaty, killing the three police officers in an exchange of fire, police said. |
As they fled the scene, one of the gunmen shot and killed a local resident before hijacking his car. | As they fled the scene, one of the gunmen shot and killed a local resident before hijacking his car. |
Kazakh authorities said two police officers had also been wounded in the attack and identified the detained gunman as a former convict wanted for the murder of a woman earlier this month. | Kazakh authorities said two police officers had also been wounded in the attack and identified the detained gunman as a former convict wanted for the murder of a woman earlier this month. |
Reuters quoted an anonymous hospital source as saying a suspect was among the dead on Monday. | |
President Nazarbayev has ordered tighter security measures in public areas, the agency adds. | |
In the attack in Aktobe last month, groups of men targeted gun stores and a military base, killing seven people. At least 18 attackers were killed by police. | |
Kazakhstan is wealthier than other post-Soviet central Asian states, and has been ruled by its authoritarian president since 1989. |