Azerbaijan arrests three people over planned embassy attack in Baku 

Authorities ‌in Azerbaijan say security forces have arrested three ‍people planning ‍an attack on an embassy in the capital, Baku.

The State ⁠Security Service said in a statement on Tuesday that the suspects had ​conspired with members of the ISIL (ISIS) affiliate in Khorasan province (ISKP), an Afghan offshoot of the armed group.

The three men – one of ‍whom was born ⁠in 2000 and the two others in 2005 – obtained weapons and ‍planned to attack an embassy before being apprehended, it said.

The statement added that the suspects were arrested ⁠on charges of “preparation for terrorism” on the basis of religious hostility and an investigation was ongoing.

It did not name the embassy that was the focus of the plot, but Israel’s Channel 12 reported that the alleged target was the Israeli embassy. Al Jazeera could not independently verify the report.

On Monday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar in Baku, during which they discussed preparations for an Azerbaijani-Israeli business forum.

ISKP has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks in Afghanistan as well as a 2024 attack on a concert venue in Moscow that killed nearly 150 people.