Azerbaijan’s State Security Service (SSS) has foiled a planned terrorist attack targeting the Israeli Embassy in Baku. The information was made public one day after Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar visited the country at the head of a large business delegation.
According to Azerbaijani security officials, three Azerbaijani citizens were arrested as they approached the area of the embassy while preparing to carry out an attack motivated by religious hostility. The exact timing of the arrests was not disclosed, though authorities said the operation took place recently.
Testimony of the terrorist arrested by Azerbaijan’s State Security Service
(Video: Azerbaijan’s State Security Service)
The suspects were identified as Guliyev Oglu, born in 2000 and known as “Abu Zar al-Muhajir”; Piriev Oglu, born in 2005 and known as “Abdurashid”; and Alizade Oglu, born in 2005 and known as “Abdur-Rahman al-Azari.”
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Foiled terror attack on the Israeli Embassy in Baku
(Photo: Azerbaijan’s State Security Service)
The State Security Service said the three maintained criminal ties with members of the Islamic State terror organization, specifically its Khorasan Province branch. As a group, officials said, they acquired items intended for use as weapons in an attack on the embassy of a “foreign state” in Azerbaijan and were detained by security forces while nearing the embassy area.
While the official statement referred to a foreign embassy, Ynet learned that the intended target was the Israeli Embassy. The suspects are expected to be charged with preparing a terrorist attack based on religious hostility, conspiracy and the use of objects intended as weapons. A court has extended their detention, and the investigation is ongoing.
In recent years, Azerbaijani security services have foiled several attempted attacks against the Israeli Embassy in Baku. The embassy is considered one of the most threatened sites in the country and is heavily guarded, with any unusual activity in the area closely monitored and addressed by security forces.