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{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = 2016 Aktobe shootings
| partof =
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| map =
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| location = [[Aktobe]], [[Kazakhstan]]
| target = Two gun shops, military base and police.
| coordinates =
| date = 5–10 June 2016
| time =
| timezone =
| type = [[Spree shooting]], [[robbery]], [[carjacking|hijacking]], [[shootout]]
| fatalities = 25 (7 victims, 18 perpetrators)<ref>{{cite web|title=Death toll from Aktobe attack reaches 19: Kazakh police|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/us-kazakhstan-shooting-toll-idUSKCN0YT0M3?il=0|website=reuters.com|publisher=Reuters.com|accessdate=June 7, 2016}}</ref><ref name="moscowtimes">{{cite web|last1=Dubnov|first1=Arkady|title=Nazarbayev on the Rocks: 'Terror,' 'Coup' Claims Shake Kazakhsta|url=http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/opinion/article/nazarbayev-on-the-rocks-terror-coup-claims-shake-kazakhstan/571550.html|website=themoscowtimes.com|publisher=The Moscow Times|accessdate=June 9, 2016}}</ref><ref name="economist">{{cite web|title=Islamist violence and a spate of protests have rattled Kazakhstan’s ruler|url=http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21700499-shaking-throne-central-asias-biggest-country-islamist-violence-and-spate-protests-have|website=economist.com|publisher=The Economist|accessdate=June 10, 2016}}</ref>
| injuries = 40+<ref name="childrencamp">{{cite web|title=Live rounds fired at kids summer camp in Kazakhstan’s west|url=https://www.rt.com/news/345812-kazakhstan-camp-attack-kids/|website=rt.com|publisher=RT|accessdate=June 8, 2016}}</ref><ref name="ap" />
| perps = Islamic extremists
| victims = 
| weapons =
| numparts =
| dfens = 
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}}
The '''2016 Aktobe shootings''' were a spate of shootings on civilian and military targets in [[Aktobe]], [[Kazakhstan]], in June 2016. On 5 June, two attacks occurred at gun stores, while a third attack was aimed at a military unit. Multiple shootouts between terrorists and police occurred over the next few days. Another shooting occurred at children's camp on 8 June.<ref name="childrencamp" /> The shootings left 7 victims dead and 37 injured. Eighteen attackers were killed and nine were arrested.<ref name="bbc">{{cite web|title=Kazakhstan: Gunmen attack gun shops and army unit in Aktobe|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36455744|website=bbc.com|publisher=BBC|accessdate=June 5, 2016}}</ref><ref name="mourning" />

==Background==
Terrorism and [[extremism]] are rare in Kazakhstan,<ref name="bbc" /><ref name="reuters" /> however, [[Aktobe]] was the site of [[2011 Aktobe bombing|Kazakhstan's first suicide bombing]] in 2011.<ref name="bbc" />

Despite the fact that Kazakhstan is usually peaceful, [[2010s oil glut|the recent plunge]] in [[petroleum]] prices, Kazakhstan's main export, has threatened stability in the country as was evidenced by a number of protests in April and May 2016.<ref name="reuters" /> Recent laws allowing foreigners to purchase land in Kazakhstan had also caused uproar.<ref name="ap" />

==The shootings==
===Initial shootings===
The group that committed the attacks, which numbered to at least sixteen people,<ref name="rt">{{cite web|title=Police arrest, kill radical Islamist gang, after attack on military base in Kazakhstan|url=https://www.rt.com/news/345468-kazakhstan-shooting-hostages-attacks/|website=rt.com|publisher=Russia Today|accessdate=June 5, 2016}}</ref> first robbed two gun shops early on 5 June, killing a guard and clerk at one shop and killing a customer at the other. They also wounded three policemen before three of the attackers were killed.<ref name="reuters">{{cite web|title=Suspected militants attack Kazakh guard base, kill six|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/us-kazakhstan-extremists-shooting-idUSKCN0YR0IX|website=reuters.com|publisher=Reuters|accessdate=June 5, 2016}}</ref> The surviving attackers then hijacked a bus and rammed open a gate to a national guard base where they killed three servicemen and wounded nine before one attacker was killed.<ref name="reuters" />

Seven attackers were arrested.<ref name="rt" />

===Later shootings===
The following night after the first shootings, five more militants were killed in gun battles with police and two more were arrested.<ref>{{cite web|title=Five Aktobe Attack Suspects Killed Overnight in Clashes with Antiterrorism Forces|url=http://astanatimes.com/2016/06/3-4/|website=astanatimes.com|publisher=Astana Times|accessdate=June 6, 2016}}</ref> More police officers were reported to have been killed or injured during the firefights.<ref name="moscowtimes" />

On 8 June, a shooting occurred at a children's camp in Aktobe. A person in a white car fired at security guards from a shotgun, but no one was injured.<ref name="childrencamp" />

Early on June 10, five militants were killed and two policemen were wounded in more gun battles in Aktobe.<ref name="ap">{{cite web|last1=Isachenkov|first1=Vladimir|title=Kazakhstan says 5 suspected militants killed in sweep|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/1157adae8e4d4574b5ff62d94f5eead5|website=bigstory.ap.org|publisher=Associated Press|accessdate=June 10, 2016}}</ref>

==Responsibility==
The perpetrators of the shootings have been described by police press-service as "followers of radical, non-traditional religious movements", a term that usually refers to Islamic extremists in Kazakhstan.<ref name="bbc" /><ref name="reuters" />

Kazakh president [[Nursultan Nazarbayev]] has claimed that the attacks were ordered from abroad in an attempt to destabilize Kazakhstan.<ref name="mourning" />

On 10 June, Nazarbayev told his security council the attackers were [[Salafism|salafists]] and probably included [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|Islamic State]] militants who had returned to Kazakhstan from [[Syria]].<ref name="ap" />

==Reactions==
Kazakhstan's president [[Nursultan Nazarbayev]] declared 9 June a national day of mourning. He also noted that the attacks occurred on the eve of [[Ramadan]] and claimed that the attacks were ordered from abroad. He also suggested that the attacks were an attempt to start a "[[colour revolution]]" in Kazakhstan.<ref name="mourning">{{cite web|last1=Orazgaliyeva|first1=Malika|title=Kazakh President Declares June 9 as National Day of Mourning|url=http://astanatimes.com/2016/06/kazakh-president-declares-june-9-as-national-day-of-mourning/|website=astanatimes.com|publisher=Astana Times|accessdate=June 9, 2016}}</ref> Nazarbayev also called for harsher criminal penalties on Kazakhs who joined militant groups, tighter security at gun shops and military installations and for stricter migration control.<ref name="ap" />

Some observers have seen attacks as evidence of rising tensions between different political groups.<ref name="ap" /> Others have stated the attack shows a weakening in president Nazarbayev's control of the country.<ref name="economist" />

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aktobe shootings}}
[[Category:2016 in Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Aktobe Region|Shootings]]
[[Category:Attacks on military installations]]
[[Category:Hijacking]]
[[Category:ISIL terrorist incidents]]
[[Category:Islamic terrorist incidents in 2016]]
[[Category:June 2016 crimes]]
[[Category:Mass murder in 2016]]
[[Category:Spree shootings]]
[[Category:Terrorism in Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in Kazakhstan in 2016]]
[[Category:June 2016 events in Asia]]

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2016 Aktobe shootings - Revision history

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Tim!: added Category:June 2016 events in Asia using HotCat