Kyrgyz Security Troops Kill Two 'Extremists' In Capital

BISHKEK -- Two wanted extremists suspected in the killing of a police officer have been shot dead by security troops in the Kyrgyz capital.

Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National Security told RFE/RL on December 11 that the two suspects, who were allegedly members of the Jaishul Mahdi Islamic extremist group, were killed in a special operation overnight.

The two men were suspected of involvement in the killing of a police officer in Bishkek last month.

Kyrgyz authorities have raised concerns over an increasing number of attacks against police officers conducted by religious extremists in recent months.

Hundreds of men and women from Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian countries are believed to be fighting alongside Islamic militants in Syria and Iraq.