ASTANA (Sputnik) — The Aktobe Region criminal court sentenced the group's leader and one associate to nine years in prison. Another member of the terrorist cell received a six-year sentence and four more minors received eight- and six-year sentences.
The indicted individual gathered a number of supporters, including minors, at a rented accommodation in August 2016, calling for armed jihad and laying out the terrorist cell's aims, the statement added, noting that group members had been recruited at a school in the city of Aktobe. The terrorists were planning to carry out terrorist acts in crowded places, including nightclubs and shopping centers.
Kazakhstan has been on a "yellow" level terrorist alert since terrorist attacks took place in Aktobe in mid-2016.
On June 5, unidentified armed assailants attacked two gun shops and a military unit in Aktobe. In response, the country's authorities announced an anti-terrorism operation. The incident left 25 people killed, including 18 terrorists, who were said to be radical followers of salafist religious movements.
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