cles/eav102907a.shtml

Eurasia Insight:
AZERBAIJAN: TERROR ATTACK FOILED IN BAKU
10/29/07

In what some experts have called the most dangerous case of Islamic
radicalism yet in Azerbaijan, authorities in the energy-rich South
Caucasus announced October 29 that they have foiled a terrorist attack
in Baku. The incident raises the possibility that religious radicalism
has gained a foothold within the Azerbaijani military.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of National Security
(MNS), "several people" characterized as members of a "Wahabbi group"
have been taken into custody. A first lieutenant in the Azerbaijani
Army, identified as Kamran Asadov, was identified as a key participant
in the conspiracy, according to MNS statement. Ministry spokesman Arif
Babayev said that Asadov is suspected of having supplied the
terrorists with arms, including four machine guns, a mortar and 20
hand grenades. Wahabbism is a puritanical form of Islam with roots in
Saudi Arabia. In many former Soviet states the term "Wahabbi" is used
as a synonym for Islamic militant.

As a precaution, the US and British embassies in Baku suspended
consular operations. Offices of several Western oil companies,
including British Petroleum and Norway’s StatOilHydro ASA, were
closed. Babayev, the security spokesman, indicated that the alleged
conspiracy targeted several Azerbaijani government buildings and the
US Embassy. A US Embassy statement cautioned Americans in Azerbaijan
to "maintain a high level of vigilance."

The plot crumbled on October 27, when Azerbaijani Special Forces
raided a home in Mashtaga, a suburb of Baku, taking suspected
terrorists into custody and recovering a cache of weapons and
ammunition, the ministry statement said. One suspect offered
resistance and was shot and killed.

"The incident is being investigated and measures are being taken to
neutralize other members of the group," said the ministry statement.
"The situation is under control. The public will be notified of
developments."

According to ANS television, Asadov went AWOL from his military base
and remains at large. The channel also reported that roughly 10
officers and cadets at Azerbaijan’s Higher Military School are
suspected of harboring Wahabbi beliefs and are being questioned in
connection with the incident.

The Defense Ministry press service downplayed the possibility of a
connection between Asadov and the Higher Military School suspects.
However, law enforcement agencies indicated that Asadov had links to
the detained Higher Military School officers and cadets.

Hidayat Orujev, the head of Azerbaijan’s State Committee for Religious
Affairs, indicated that the involvement of at least one military
officer in the conspiracy was a source of concern. "I share the view
that reports of Wahabbism being widespread in the Azerbaijani army are
groundless. However, observations show that if there is one [Islamic
radical in the army], there may be many others," the APA news agency
quoted Orujev as saying.

Since the initial October 27 raid, Azerbaijani authorities have been
carrying out a security sweep in and around Baku, resulting in at
least 17 individuals being detained. In the Devichi Region, roughly
140 kilometers from Baku, a suspected radical activist, Mirza
Alibekov, was taken into custody after authorities discovered radical
religious literature in his home.

Reflecting a heightened sense of skittishness in the wake of the
raids, APA reported that two Azerbaijani nationals – identified as
Chingiz Rafibeyli and Mobil Jabrailov – were detained briefly outside
the US Embassy during the afternoon of October 29. The two were
reportedly acting suspiciously outside of the embassy grounds, and US
officials requested that Azerbaijani security officials take action.

Ilgar Mamedov, a Baku-based political scientist, suggested that the
United States may have provided the intelligence that led to the
security sweep. "Most likely, information about these [radical] groups
was given to Azerbaijani special services during the recent visit to
Baku by CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden," Mamedov said. [For
background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Other experts said the incident sheds light on the growth of
ultra-conservative religious beliefs in Azerbaijan, adding that the
issue of containing Islamic radicalism is rapidly becoming a major
challenge for the government.