TEHRAN – The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman condemned on Thursday a terrorist attack in the Kazakh city of Aktobe and offered condolences to the Kazakh government and families of victims.

Hossein Jaberi Ansari highlighted the importance of countering extremism and its ideological origins.

He said the incident indicates vulnerability of the Central Asian region to the terrorist activities.

On June 5, unidentified gunmen attacked two gun shops and a military unit in Aktobe, killing seven people and injuring 37 others, most of them servicemen. Thirteen assailants were killed, nine were arrested in a counter-terror operation in the city, with six criminals still at large, Press TV reported.

According to Reuters, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said on Wednesday that armed attacks in the city of Aktobe had been orchestrated from abroad and pledged to use the toughest measures to “suppress extremists and terrorists”.

NA/PA