Azerbaijan arrests three men for planning embassy attack at behest of Islamic State offshoot

Authorities in Azerbaijan say they have arrested three individuals planning an attack on a foreign embassy in the capital Baku at the instructions of Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), the Afghan offshoot of Islamic State.

In a statement, the State Security Service said the three men, whom it named, had conspired with members of ISIS-K, obtained weapons and planned to attack a foreign embassy before they were apprehended by security forces.

The statement did not name the foreign embassy.

Islamic State-Khorasan, or ISIS-K, claimed responsibility for the 2024 Crocus City Hall attack in Moscow which left at least 145 people dead.

There have been a number of Islamic State-linked plots foiled in the majority-Muslim regions of Russia, where the group is listed as a banned terrorist organization, and in Central Asia.

Azerbaijan, a South Caucasus country of some 10 million people bordering Russia and Iran, is a secular country with a predominantly Muslim population, the majority of whom are Shiites.

In its statement, Azerbaijani authorities say the suspects had been arrested on charges of “preparation for terrorism” on the basis of religious hostility. They said the investigation was ongoing.

In a separate case, an Azerbaijani court sentenced a man affiliated with ISIS-K to 13 years in prison on terrorism charges last October after finding him guilty of plotting an attack on a synagogue in Baku with a Molotov cocktail in December 2024.