The Azerbaijan State News Agency

Terrorist group neutralized

Terrorist group neutralized

Baku, February 3, AZERTAC

Joint comprehensive measures have been taken by the employees of the State Security Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs to identify terrorist and sabotage acts by members of radical religious-extremist groups affiliated with international terrorist organizations in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan and to prevent their illegal activities, according to the joint information from the State Security Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

As a result of the implemented operational-investigative measures, it was revealed that Gadir Hajiyev, previously convicted for participating in the activities of the terrorist group "Forest Brothers," in complicity with residents of the Gusar district—Kamran Karimkhanov, Umud Gulaliyev, Valerik Adilov, Riyad Safaraliyev, Rovshan Lachinov, Nazim Zakiyev, and others—prepared terrorist acts in the territory of the Gusar district. They created underground shelters in the forest area surrounding the villages of Hil, Jibir, and Yasab of that district, and equipped these shelters with weapons, ammunition, explosives, technical devices, and other necessary equipment.

At the initial stage, after determining the location of Alipasha Kamilov, a member of the group, during an attempt to bring him under investigation, he showed armed resistance to special forces servicemen at the address where he was hiding in the city of Gusar and threw two "RGO-78" hand grenades, as a result of which one of the special forces officers was injured and Alipasha Kamilov was neutralized.

As a result of the ongoing operational-search and investigative measures, shelters and storage areas secretly created in a forest area near the village of Jibir were discovered, and members of the illegal armed group hiding in those places—Gadir Hajiyev, Riyad Safaraliyev, Valerik Adilov, and Umud Gulaliyev—were killed while offering armed resistance and setting off explosive devices.

During the inspection of the discovered shelters, peat intended for the preparation of explosive devices, acetone, detonators, remotely controlled explosive mechanisms, fittings and lead parts used as shrapnel, two Kalashnikov assault rifles, three shotguns, cartridges and assault rifle bullets, as well as a flag—the symbol of an illegal armed group recognized as a terrorist organization at the international level—were identified and seized.

Also, the immediate measures taken revealed that members of the terrorist group Nazim Zakiyev were hiding in a farm near the village of Hil, and Kamran Karimkhanov and Rovshan Lachinov were hiding in the village of Hil. After showing armed resistance to the law enforcement agents, they were neutralized.

The investigations established details and evidence regarding the circle of individuals included in the criminal group, their organizational form, equipment, and plans.

Etibar Ahmadov, who illegally obtained ammonium nitrate, highly flammable peat, detonators, and fire-carrying cords and used them to make homemade explosive devices, hid them in the “Motel” guest house in Gusar and on the roof of a nearby car wash. He was injured as a result of the explosion of those devices while continuing the aforementioned actions.

In addition, reasonable suspicions have been established that Sharafeddin Mahmudov, Etibar Ahmadov, and others, all residents of Gusar district, participated in the activities of an armed group prohibited by the legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan, including supplying this armed group with explosives and other equipment.

The members of the aforementioned criminal group—Etibar Ahmadov, Rahim Mirzabeyov, David Rashidov, Sharafeddin Mahmudov, Abugul Babayev, and Elchin Alirzayev—were brought to justice as defendants in a criminal case under investigation with articles 28, 214.2.1, 28, 214.2.3, 28, 214.2.6 (preparation for terrorism based on religious hostility, religious radicalism, and religious fanaticism by using firearms and objects used as weapons in the case of a criminal association (criminal organization)) and other articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan. A preventive measure of arrest was chosen for them by the court decision.

Currently, investigative and operational measures in criminal cases are continuing.

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