Kazakhstan says 5 suspected militants killed in sweep

Five suspected militants were killed in gunbattles with police that followed a series of recent armed attacks that have challenged stability of the energy- rich ex-Soviet nation, authorities said today.
Kazakhstan's National Security Committee said its agents tracked down four suspects hiding in an apartment building early today in Aktobe, a city in Kazakhstan's northwest, about 70 kilometers south of the Russian border.
The agency said the suspects refused to surrender, fired on police and security officers, and were killed in the ensuing gunbattle.
Another gunman fired at police at a different location and was killed by retaliatory fire. Two police officers were wounded, the committee said.

At least 20 people were killed in Aktobe on Sunday when groups of gunmen attacked a military base and gun shops. The death toll included three servicemen, four civilians and 13 attackers. Nearly 40 people were wounded.
Kazakhstan's authorities described the violence as a terror attack and blamed it on religious extremists. Police and security forces have launched a sweeping hunt for those involved in the attacks.

The National Security Committee said today that it was continuing the search for some attackers who have remained at large.
The violence has shaken Kazakhstan and cast a serious challenge to 75-year old President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has come to lead the energy-rich Central Asian nation as its Communist boss before the 1991 Soviet collapse.

He has maintained a tight grip over the nation's political system, winning his fifth presidential term in 2015 with 98 percent of the vote.
Kazakhstan's economic fortunes has collapsed due to slumping prices for oil, its main currency earner, and the economy was expected to slow to 0.5 per cent this year.