Kazakhstan is a Central Asian nation of 19.2 million (map) that is 71% Muslim and 25% Christian (24% Orthodox). This month, the nation has been rocked by protests that led the nation’s government to call in Russian troops.

Bishop José Luis Mumbiela Sierra of Almaty, the president of the bishops’ conference, agrees with government claims of an attempted coup “involving both local criminals and jihadist militiamen from Afghanistan and the Middle East,” according to the report.

“I could hear the gunshots, a police station near my house suffered 27 attempts to take it over,” Bishop Mumbiela said. “The attackers had snipers placed in neighboring houses to attack the police … They were people militarily prepared for a major action and with massive cooperation.”