2011 Aktobe bombing

The 2011 Aktobe bombing was a terrorist attack in the city of Aktobe, Kazakhstan on 17 May 2011. The attacker entered the local headquarters of the National Security Committee in the Aktobe region and set off a suicide bomb, killing himself and injuring two others.^[1] Initially, the bombing was blamed on "organized crime" in what was considered the first mafia-related suicide bombing in history. Some newspapers said that Rakhimjan Makhatov [ru], the bomber, was a member of an organized criminal group. However, Kazakhstani officials eventually conceded that the attack was probably linked to Islamic extremists in the oil-rich province. The attack marked the opening of a violent summer in Kazakhstan's west, during which multiple attacks claimed the lives of a combined 19 people.^[2]

2011 Aktobe bombing
Location	Aktobe, Kazakhstan
Date	17 May 2011
Attack type	Suicide bombing
Deaths	1 (perpetrator)
Injured	2

See also

• Terrorism and counterterrorism in Kazakhstan

References

1. Lillis, Joanna (17 May 2011). "Kazakhstan Official Blames Mafia for Suicide Bombing". Eurasianet. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
2. Lillis, Joanna (6 September 2011). "Kazakhstan: Astana Confronts Extremist Threat". Eurasianet. Retrieved 7 June 2016.

50.2831°N 57.2233°E / 50.2831; 57.2233