Five people were on Monday gunned down in attacks on a police station and a security building in Kazakhstan’s largest city Almaty with security forces arresting two men in connection with the assaults.
Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee (KNB) declared its “anti-terror” operation over in the financial capital after detaining the two suspects.
Three police officers and two civilians were shot dead in what President Nursultan Nazarbayev called “a terrorist act”. KNB security chief Vladimir Zhumakanov said one of the suspects may have “connected” with followers of the ultra-conservative Salafi strain of Islam while in jail on theft and weapons charges.
“We are checking this information,” Zhumakanov said at a televised meeting of Nazarbayev’s security council, without providing further details.
The KNB announced “the conclusion of the anti-terror operation” and lowered the terror threat level from “critical” red to “moderate” yellow shortly after detaining the second of the two men.
The first suspect is accused of killing a local resident during a carjacking and attacking the police station in broad daylight, then shooting dead a police officer and seizing his gun, the interior ministry said. A civilian also died during the shooting at the police station.
The suspect then shot dead two officers as they gave chase, before he was arrested.