JERUSALEM (JTA) — At least two citizens of Azerbaijan reportedly have been arrested in connection with an alleged plot to kill two Jewish educators and the Israeli ambassador in Baku.
The arrests last week were reported in local media in the Azerbaijani capital. Three men reportedly were charged with weapons smuggling as part of a plot to kill a teacher and a rabbi at the Chabad Or Avner Jewish school in Baku, as well as the Israeli ambassador to Azerbaijan, Michael Lotem. Two of those charged are reported to be in custody; one is still at large.
It is alleged that Iranian intelligence agencies promised to pay the three men $150,000 to commit the murders.
Israel’s Counter-Terrorism Bureau has issued a travel warning for Azerbaijan.
Approximately 6,400 Jews live in Azerbaijan, according to the Jewish Virtual Library, which bases its figures on the American Jewish Committee’s American Jewish Year Book.
The Or Avner school in Baku, which also houses a Jewish community center, opened in 2010. It has about 400 students.
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