Terrorism: Astana, arrested religious radical group

(AGI) - Astana, 5 sep. - "In February 2016 the Kazakh security officials detained five members of the religious radical group in Astana who wanted to organize a series of terrorist attacks in Moscow and Kazakhstan that would resemble Paris' November 2015 gunmen attack. Some of them were citizens of Kazakhstan, Russia and Tajikistan", Saipoldayev, the head of the Counter-Terrorism Center, said at the briefing in Astana. Overall, 57 religious radicals have been sentenced in Kazakhstan in 2016, according to Zhanat Saipoldayev. "We have managed to decrease the number of Kazakhs travelling to participate in the conflicts in the Middle East. For instance, we prevented and stopped almost 70 citizens of Kazakhstan who wanted to join such conflicts", Saipoldayev noted. Another group of radicals from Kazakhstan and Central Asia was arrested by Russian police in coordination with Kazakh officials. They were planning to organize terrorist attacks in Moscow during the Day of Victory parade in May 2016. Kzy/Pit