9 killed in blast at Kazakh military base

 9 killed in blast at Kazakh military base

A series of bomb blasts at a military base in southern Kazakhstan has killed at least nine members of the country's military and firefighters. 90 people were injured. Besides, no trace of four more people can be found. Kazakhstan's Defense Minister Nurlan Yermekbayev told a news briefing on Friday that the cause of the fire was not immediately clear.

He added that the soldiers were killed while trying to extinguish the fire after a total of ten blasts, adding that the explosives were brought to the military base after four people were killed in a similar accident in the city of Aris in 2019. Kazakhstan's Defense Minister Nurlan Yermekbayev also told Azatik, a local branch of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty in Kazakhstan, that he had already submitted his resignation letter to the government following the crash at a military base.

Authorities rescued hundreds of people from the area after the military base exploded in stages. Authorities also temporarily closed the main highway connecting Almaty, the largest city in Zhambyl province.