AZERBAIJAN EMBASSY ATTACKS ‘FOILED’ FROM CORRESPONDENTS IN BAKU, AZERBAIJAN
NEWS.com.au, Australia
Oct 30 2007
AZERBAIJANI authorities have foiled a "terrorist" attack by a radical
Islamic group against government facilities and diplomatic missions,
including the US embassy, the Ministry for National Security said
overnight. "We averted attempts at terrorist acts against some state
structures in the city of Baku, as well as embassies and diplomatic
missions of member countries of the international anti-terrorist
coalition," it said. Ministry spokesman Arif Babayev said the US
embassy in Baku was among the targets. Security was tight outside
the embassy overnight, with dozens of police standing guard. Hours
before the statement from the Azerbaijani government, Britain said
it had closed its embassy in Baku, while the US said it was limiting
operations at its mission.
Both cited security concerns. The alert was unusual in Azerbaijan,
a relatively peaceful corner of the troubled Caucasus region, despite
the country’s unresolved conflict with neighbouring Armenia over
the tiny Nagorno-Karabakh province. According to the Ministry for
National Security, one suspect was killed and two detained during a
raid on Sunday against alleged extremists near Baku. News agencies
reported that the suspect had been shot and killed while trying
to throw a hand grenade at police. Large quantities of weapons and
"extremist" literature were seized during the operation, the ministry
said. Police detained 17 alleged extremists during another raid
near Baku yesterday, news agencies reported. The ministry said the
radical Islamic group included an army lieutenant who had stolen four
assault rifles, a machine gun, 20 hand grenades and ammunition. It
was unclear whether the lieutenant was among those detained. "At
the current time, intensive investigations and operations to find
and neutralise other members of the group are being conducted," the
ministry said. Overnight, a spokesman for the British embassy said
it "was closed due to local security concerns", while a US embassy
spokesman said the mission had limited operations to essential services
because of a security threat. Neither embassy would provide details on
the nature of the security concerns or say when the embassies would
resume full operations. Azerbaijan, a mainly Shiite Muslim ex-Soviet
republic of about eight million, is a key US ally in the mountainous
Caucasus region south of Russia and north of Iran.
Earlier this month, lawmakers approved plans to double the number
of Azerbaijani troops serving with NATO-led forces in Afghanistan
from 22 to 44. Azerbaijan has contributed small numbers of forces to
Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo, as President Ilham Aliyev seeks closer
ties with the West. After decades of Soviet rule, Azerbaijan is
considered one of the most secular Muslim countries. But the number
of devout Muslims is on the rise, thanks in part to neighbouring
Iran, which has funded the building of mosques and Islamic schools
throughout the country. Azerbaijani officials have warned that Iran
is trying to export its version of radical Islam to Azerbaijan and
have cracked down on religious groups the government claims preach
extremist beliefs. Critics say the government uses the potential
threat of radicalism as a cover for persecuting political opponents.
Western governments and international human-rights groups have
repeatedly accused Azerbaijan of trampling on religious freedoms.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
