Islamist militant kills seven in attack in Kazakh city
ALMATY (Reuters) - An Islamist militant killed seven people in running battles with security forces in a southern Kazakh city on Saturday, the latest in a series of attacks on the oil-producing state that was long seen as the most peaceful in Central Asia.
The prosecutor-general's office said a 34-year-old "follower of jihadism" killed four members of the security forces and two civilians in gun battles in the city of Taraz. He blew himself up when cornered, killing another policeman.
A string of blasts and shootouts, including one last month claimed by a hitherto unknown Islamist militant group, has unnerved the authorities and public of the former Soviet republic, a mainly Muslim nation of nearly 17 million.
A local resident of Taraz told Reuters that he heard the sound of explosions and gunfire in the center of the city, about 550 km (350 miles) west of Almaty, Kazakhstan's financial center and biggest city.
"We never thought that this kind of thing could happen here," said the resident, who did not want to be identified.
The prosecutor-general's office said a man it identified as M.K. Kariyev killed two members of theNational Security Committee who had him under surveillance, before embarking on a spree of violence.
He raided a weapons store, killing a security guard and fatally wounding a visitor before escaping with two semi-automatic rifles, the office said.
It said the assailant hijacked a car and shot dead two policemen in pursuit, before collecting a grenade launcher from his home and shooting at the local building of the National Security Committee, the successor to the Soviet-era KGB.
The suspect later blew himself up when apprehended, killing a police officer who was attempting to disarm him. A further three police officers were injured in the attacks.
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