Azerbaijan , Baku, 11 Jul/ Trend/
A group of prisoners at a colony in Kazakh city of Balkhash went on strike on Monday, Novosti-Kazkhstan reported.
The prisoners attacked a man on point duty. As a result of shoot-out, two members of (penal system) of the Justice Ministry and hour observation post were wounded.
When Specznaz assaulted the colony, 16 striking prisoners committed suicide by blowing themselves up.
" When we were approaching one of the industrial area of the building, the criminals undermined themselves, presumably using an oxygen bomb ," Novosti-Kazakhstan quoted Talgat Akhmetov, deputy chairman of the penal system committee of Kazakh Justice Ministry .
Some non-official sources told Novosti-Kazakhstan that the prisoners took dozens of hostages. The same source said that there are 30 prisoners on strike.
However the penal system committee of Kazakh Justice Ministry disproved the information saying that no hostages are kept at the colony at the moment.
Physical condition of all wounded in the shoot-out remains serious.
A source in the law-enforcement agency said that the day before, new prisoner joined the colony. He was convicted for extremist activity, Novosti-Kazakhstan reported. Strike was initiated by him, the source said.