Controversial Kyrgyz lawmaker, businessman Bayaman Erkinbayev killed

Bayaman Erkinbayev shot and killed, a Kyrgyz lawmaker and wealthy businessman from the Central Asian nation's turbulent south who had survived an assassination attempt five months ago, the Interior Ministry said Thursday.

Ministry spokesman Nurdin Jangarayev said that Erkinbayev was attacked after he arrived home by car late Wednesday. He sustained bullet wounds to the neck and chest and died in hospital.

Erkinbayev, who made his fame as a wrestler, had served in the parliament for a decade. His supporters were a driving force behind protests in southern Kyrgyzstan that later moved to the capital, Bishkek, and ousted longtime President Askar Akayev from office on March 24, reports the AP.