Two people were arrested in Baku for plotting a terrorist attack against the local Jewish community, Israeli media reporting citing the Azerbaijani State Security Service. The target of the assassination was one of the leaders of the local Jewish community. During a special operation, a Georgian citizen, Agyl Aslanov, was detained. Aslanov had a previous conviction for drug smuggling.
In September 2024, he visited a third country, presumably Iran, where he met with local intelligence agents. They provided him with a photograph of a member of the Azerbaijani Jewish community and offered him $200,000 to organize the murder. Aslanov agreed and received an advance payment of $2,000.
In Baku, Aslanov recruited local resident Jeyhun Ismailov to help plan the assassination. They surveilled the Jewish community leader, searched for information about his workplace and residence, and sent the coordinates to their Iranian handler via messenger.
“It is most likely that this is the work of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The State Security Service of Azerbaijan constantly works to protect Jews and Israelis,” said a representative of the Jewish community of Baku to the Vesty publication.
According to the same source, the criminals were gathering information not only on the target leader but also on other members of the community, with plans to target more Jews. This is not the first case of preventing attacks on Jews or Israelis in Azerbaijan. In recent years, the State Security Service has foiled several attempts to carry out terrorist attacks against the Israeli embassy in November 2023 and other Israeli sites.
Politics
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