Azernews.Az

Two hand grenades exploded at a mosque in Baku on Sunday, killing three and injuring 10 others. The mosque serves, predominantly, followers of Wahhabism.
Police report an unidentified individual threw the grenades into the mosque during prayer services at the Abu Bakr mosque at around 9 p.m. The imam of the mosque, Haji Gamat, was among those injured.
Rasim Gurbanov, Deputy Prosecutor of the Narimanov district of Baku, said the assailant had tossed the grenades inside from a window in the upper part of the building, which he had broken with a stone.
The grenades landed inside a main section where men were praying. The attacker, who investigators say is between 25 and 30 years old, escaped following the blast.
Eyewitnesses said that immediately after the blast, five to six people ran from the mosque and chased the man, who was dressed in a black shirt and carried a weapon, but were unable to seize him.
Considering that the attack has caused a public outcry, the Azerbaijani president announced he will personally oversee the investigation into the crime and apprehend those responsible for the attack, according to a joint statement issued on Monday by the Interior and National Security Ministries and the Prosecutor-General's Office.
Senior officials of these three powerful agencies set up an ad hoc group to conduct the investigation and coordinate operations.
The mosque has been indefinitely closed pending the completion of on-site work by experts as part of the ongoing investigation.
Several years ago, officials of the National Security Ministry called Abu Bakr "a Wahhabi nest," however, the mosque's clerics said those praying at the shrine had no connection to other radicals.
The State Committee for Work with Religious Associations has branded the explosion as a terror act. "We hope that the motives, the masterminds and executors of the crime will be established during the investigation and the perpetrators will be punished in accordance with the law," the committee said in a statement released Monday.
The United States condemned the attack. "We hope that the government will quickly be able to bring to justice those responsible for this crime," said a statement from the U.S. embassy.
"Azerbaijan has long been heralded for its tradition of religious harmony and interfaith dialogue, and those who would attack a mosque violate humanity's most cherished precepts. We offer our solidarity with the Azerbaijani people in the face of this cowardly attack."
Sheikh Allahshukur Pashazada, Caucasus Clerical Office chairman, called the attack a consequence of discord between two groups. He said that no such incidents had occurred in the country in the past and did not rule out that "hostile forces could have a hand" in the attack.
"If there were problems with religion in Azerbaijan, such attacks would be committed against those professing other creeds," Pashazada told a local news agency. "But, the fact it was staged by Muslims against Muslims shows that it resulted from rivalry and revenge," he said, but did not specify which groups or what disagreements were responsible for tensions between them.
Aydin Mirzazada, a member of the Azerbaijani delegation at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), said the Abu Bakr attack was not caused by religious tensions but was politically motivated.
"The attack is a development which is not inherent to Azerbaijan, given its brutality and the way it happened," he said in an interview with AssA-Irada.
Mirzazada said the attack could be linked to ongoing developments in neighboring Georgia. "It is possible that some are trying to divert Azerbaijan from its position on the Georgia-Russia stand-off."
The MP said that, in any case, the explosion was orchestrated by forces opposed to stability in the country.
"The attack primarly aims to cast a shadow on the upcoming presidential elections, disrupt existing political stability in Azerbaijan and divert the country from its development goals."
He said the masterminds of the deadly attack have chosen "a very dangerous path that will create problems for Azerbaijan." In doing so, they are trying to seek political advantage from the attack.
"But I believe they will fail to realize their goals. The Azerbaijani people, in general, are a nation which respects religion and considers places of worship sacred, and as a society, we will never support someone's adventures."