A top Kazakh special service official today warned that representatives in Kazakhstan of Israel, Russia, the US, Britain and Uzbekistan risked becoming targets in terrorist attacks.
Security forces were working with the special services of these countries to uncover and prevent the attacks, deputy head of the national security committee Mr Baurzhan Elubayev was cited by Interfax as saying.
The security official also warned of the appearance in the south of Kazakhstan of the banned Islamic party Hizbut Takhrir, which aims to carve out an Islamic state by nonviolent means in Central Asia, Interfax reported.
Kazakhstan is considered to be a more stable republic compared to its neighbours Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and nearby Tajikistan, which have suffered cross-border incursions by Islamic extremists based in Afghanistan.
The country was quick to offer its facilities for use by the United States in the US-led effort to root out the al-Qaeda network and the Taliban in Afghanistan following the September 11th attacks.
AFP