Azerbaijan says it foils attack on US Embassy

Authorities in Azerbaijan say they have detained a group of heavily armed Islamic militants who were allegedly plotting an attack on the US Embassy in Baku, which closed Monday in response to the threat. The State Department in Washington said there was "specific and credible threat information," but gave no further details.

The detained men were described as being Wahhabis – a Sunni Muslim sect that originated in Saudi Arabia – and their ranks included an Army officer who had supplied assault rifles and grenade launchers, Reuters reported Monday. It quoted a spokesman for the National Security Ministry, Arif Babayev.

Babayev said that part of the militant group was detained at the weekend in the village of Mashtagi, near Baku, including the military officer, who had recently gone absent from his post.

"It was established that the group ... had four Kalashnikov rifles, one Kalashnikov grenade launcher, 20 grenades, rounds and other automatic weapon parts," Babayev said.

The British Embassy in Baku also closed Monday over "local security concerns." The Associated Press reported a statement by the National Security Ministry that the arrests had prevented a wider terrorist plot against national and foreign targets.

"That prevented a large-scale, horrifying terror attack that was being prepared by members of this group against several state structures in Baku and embassies and missions of the countries which are members of the international anti-terror coalition," the ministry said, adding that other members of the group were being sought.

Azerbaijan is a largely secular Muslim republic on the western shore of the oil-rich Caspian Sea. British oil giant BP operates two large oil and gas export projects in Azerbaijani waters that supply energy markets in Western Europe, the Financial Times reported Tuesday from Moscow.

Azerbaijan, with its population of 8m, is a predominantly Muslim republic with borders with Iran, Russia and Georgia….

The arrests come at a time when Azerbaijan is enjoying economic growth of more than 30 per cent amid a growing oil surge.

However, poverty remains widespread. Human rights groups say Islamist religious groups are gaining influence, particularly among the poor.

Azerbaijan's relationship with neighboring Iran may have been the focus of a recent visit to Baku by Central Intelligence Agency director Michael Hayden, Eurasianet.org, a specialist website funded by the Open Society Institute, reported earlier this month. General Hayden met Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev, on Sept. 28 during what US officials said was a regional tour to discuss security and international terrorism.

Some local analysts believe the US wants to use Azerbaijan as a base for a possible military attack on Iran, according to Euroasianet.org. It also cited Ilgar Mammadov, an independent analyst, as drawing a link between Hayden's visit and the trial of a pro-Iranian militant group.

A preliminary hearing for the government's case against the 15-member group, named after its leader, Said Dadashbeyli, took place at the end of September in Baku, the Turan news agency reported on October 1. Group members are also charged with high treason, illegal arms possession, illegal contact with foreign intelligence services, robbery and other crimes.

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