A suspect in a high-profile mass murder in Kazakhstan has been released after all charges against him were dropped.



Forest ranger Aleksei Shkilev was arrested in September in connection with the slayings of 12 people in the Ile-Alatau National Park, near Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty.



In August, Shkilev's house in the national park was found burned down and the bodies of six men and women were discovered in the ruins.



Six men and women were found stabbed to death in another part of the park the same day.



Shkilev's lawyer told journalists on November 1 that his client was able to prove he had no connection to the crime.



Last month, Kazakh officials said they are looking for two suspected radical Islamists, who might be involved in the mass murder.



Based on reporting by KazTAG and Kazinform