5 militants, 2 police killed in clash in Kazakhstan

ASTANA – Five militants and two members of an elite police force were killed in a clash in southern Kazakhstan, prosecutors said Sunday, amid concerns about rising Islamist unrest in the Central Asian state.

“Two members of the special Arystan battalion of the national security committee were killed,” general prosecutors said in a statement.

“After refusing to give themselves up and providing armed resistance, five members of the terrorist group were killed,” it added.