By: Christoph Germann | February 9, 2014
Furthermore, the Russian authorities continue to monitor the activities of Russian jihadists in Syria. Ramzan Kadyrov, the Head of the Chechen Republic, just announced the death of one ethnic Chechen from the Pankisi Gorge, who was leading a Wahhabi group in Aleppo. However, Chechens are not the only representatives from the Caucasus region in Syria. There is also an increasing number of Azerbaijani citizens fighting on the side of the various al-Qaeda factions. Considering Azerbaijan’s role as base of operations for the NATO-GCC-Israel axis in the war against the Syrian government, this should come as no real surpise [emphasis mine]:
Croat businessman Hrvoje Petrac, a leading light in the Balkan arms trade, has been exploring new business opportunities in Syria. Petrac, who was jailed at one point in connection with the kidnapping of the son of Vladimir Zagorec, the chief executive of the public arms export agency Agencija Alan (ex-RH-Alan), now operates from Azerbaijan. From there he is believed to be supplying weapons to Syria via Jordan, which is understood to be providing end-user certificates. The operations are understood to be taking place with the financial support and protection of several intelligence agencies in the Middle East that are supporting the Syrian rebels.
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In fact, Azerbaijan has played a pivotal role in U.S. intelligence operations since the days of MEGA Oil in the early 1990s, when hundreds of mujahideen were flown from Afghanistan to Baku, converting the Azerbaijani capital “into a base for regional jihadi operations”. Baku later also hosted the infamous pre-9/11 meetings, where senior U.S. officials met with the likes of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and current Saudi intelligence chief Bandar bin Sultan to coordinate the Pentagon’s ‘Gladio’ operations in the region. With Bandar Bush now in charge of the majority of the “Syrian rebels”, it is not hard to guess, who is supporting and protecting notorious Croatian mafia boss Petrac. At the end of last year, the Azerbaijani regime and the House of Saud agreed to strengthen their cooperation, resulting among others in the signing of a security agreement [emphasis mine]:
Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia to sign security agreement
Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia agreed on signing of the agreement “On the extradition of criminals and arrested persons” and protocol “On cooperation between Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia in the fight against crime” as part of security cooperation.
Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia, stressing security cooperation, agreed on the joint work in the fight against terrorism.
Since Baku and Riyadh are equally committed to fighting terrorism, this makes definitely sense. The only question is whether the Aliyev regime is prepared to deal with the consequences, which a close cooperation with the Wahhabism-spreading petro-monarchy inevitably entails:
Crimes committed by Wahhabis discussed at board meeting of Prosecutor General’s Office
It was noted at the meeting that Investigation Department for Grave Crimes under the Prosecutor General’s Office are investigating criminal cases, which caused great public resonance, as well as banditry, premeditated murder of police officers committed in Gusar region by a group of Wahhabis, conflict occurred between criminal groups in Zagatala region, incidents committed with the use of firearms, cold steels and explosive devices at the tea house in Sumgayit city.
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Baku is totally fine with Wahhabi liver-eaters destroying Syria but if they cause trouble in Azerbaijan, that is of course a different matter altogether. However, at the moment domestic problems take a back seat to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Two weeks ago, tensions between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces escalated dramatically causing civilian casualties on both sides. So the Aliyev regime lost no time in organizing another shopping tour. Azerbaijan’s military is apparently not happy with its Israeli drones, which might very well be compromised, and is therefore considering to support Turkey’s military-industrial complex:
Azerbaijan testing Turkish drone
Representatives of Turkish defence industry enterprises established contacts in Azerbaijan during the period of heightened tension on the contact line between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, According to Turkish TV channel TRT.
“Turkish engineers presented their products to the Azerbaijani military. The greatest interest of the Azerbaijani side caused drone Anka,” the website reports.
Tests are underway to determine the suitability of this UAV to the air and geographical conditions of Azerbaijan.
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Christoph Germann– BFP Contributing Author & Analyst Christoph Germann is an independent analyst and researcher based in Germany, where he is currently studying political science. His work focuses on the New Great Game in Central Asia and the Caucasus region. You can visit his website here – See more at: http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/2014/02/09/the-new-great-game-round-up-february-9-2014/#sthash.dRrQtzHo.dpuf