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Monday, October 29, 2007

U.K./U.S. Embassies Closed After Terror Threat

Updated: 14:59, Monday October 29, 2007

U.K. Embassy Closed After Terror Threat

Top Threat BAKU, AZERBAIJAN/LONDON, ENGLAND: The British embassy in Azerbaijan has been closed after security forces thwarted a "large-scale horrifying terror attack" in the capital Baku.

The claim of a plot came from the Azerbaijani National Security Ministry which said one suspect was killed and several others detained in an operation outside the city.

The security ministry said in a statement that the radical Islamic group included an army lieutenant who had stolen 20 hand grenades, a machine gun, four assault rifles and ammunition from his military unit and made them available for the planned attack.

Security forces tracked down the group and arrested several of its members in the village of Mastaga 20 miles northeast of Baku. One member of the group offered resistance to the arrest and was killed, the statement added. The ministry said that a hunt for other members of the group was still under way.

"Several people belonging to a Wahhabi group have been detained. They were planning terrorist attacks near the U.S. embassy in Baku," said a spokesman.

Visit SkyNews for the whole story: UK. Embassy Closed After Terror Threat

29 Oct 2007
U.S. Embassy targeted by Azerbaijan terror
BAKU, Azerbaijan - The U.S. and British embassies suspended operations Monday in Baku, where the government said it thwarted a radical Islamic group's plot to conduct a "large-scale horrifying terror attack" against diplomatic missions and government buildings.

The U.S. Embassy sent out an announcement to American citizens saying it had closed its consular office for an indefinite period because of a security threat and said it encouraged Americans to "maintain a high level of vigilance." Police cars were parked outside.

National Security Ministry spokesman Arif Babayev told The Associated Press that the radical Islamic group had planned to launch a "terror attack against several government structures in Baku and the U.S. Embassy."

In Washington, the State Department declined to comment on the specific nature of the threat but said the embassy, in cooperation with officials in Azerbaijan, had beefed up security and the mission would likely reopen soon. -- Source, AP/Yahoo News -- http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071029/ap_on_re_as/azerbaijan_embassy_threat

Posted by C. L. Staten at 12:28.48
Edited on: Monday, October 29, 2007 12:31.16
Categories: Counter-Terrorism, Intelligence, Political/Diplomatic/Economic