Kyrgyz police say a man they described as a leading criminal allegedly linked to recent unrest in the south has been killed in a shootout between rival gangs.
The Interior Ministry said that Aibek Mirsidikov was killed overnight along with three others in a small town outside the southern city of Jalal-Abad.
The city was the site of deadly clashes last month between supporters of deposed President Kurmanbek Bakiev and backers of the interim government.
Ethnic Uzbek leaders in the region have accused Mirsidikov, a Bakiev supporter known locally as Black Aibek, of organizing the seizure of local government offices, which sparked the unrest.
compiled from agency reports