Kyrgyz snipers kill man who hijacked passenger minibus

A suspected terrorist, who hijacked a minibus with passengers in an attempt to flee a special operation zone in southern Kyrgyzstan, was shot by a sniper, the Russian News Agency ( Ria Novosti ) quoted a police spokesman as saying. A man, suspected of extremism and terrorism activities, got into a minibus in the city of Kara-Suu in an apparent attempt to escape a special operation in the area. He demanded at gunpoint that the driver to took him to Osh, a city some 250 km (150 miles) away. The hijacker was killed upon approaching Osh. "The national security service killed a terrorist who hijacked a minibus with passengers in the Karasui district of the Osh region. There are no casualties among passengers or law-enforcers," regional police department spokesman Zamir Sadykov said. The counter-terrorism operation in the region continues, he added. Security measures in the region were stepped up during the visit of the republic''s top officials, including President Roza Otunbayeva. They arrived to the Osh region over the weekend to take part in festivities marking the 200th anniversary of Kyrgyz stateswoman Kurmanjan Datka.