BAKU. Nov 27 (Interfax) - Four members of a criminal gang and two policemen were killed in an armed incident in the settlement of Nardaran in Baku on Thursday, the Azeri Interior Ministry and the Prosecutor General's Office reported in a joint statement.
A number of people have also been injured in the incident.
Police detained 14 people in the Nardaran conflict, it said.
Eyewitnesses claim that eight people have been killed, an ANS television journalist reported earlier. According to the report, the armed incident between police and believers, involving automatic rifles and grenades, took place inside a mosque.
Turan news agency said earlier, citing sources in law enforcement agencies, that police on Thursday carried out an operation to arrest famous theologian Tale Bagirzade. His supporters clashed with police, a grenade was thrown into law enforcement officers, some people were injured.
According to the Islamazeri.az website, the operation was carried out during a daytime Muslim prayer service, which prompted a strongly negative reaction among believers.
The population of Nardaran is well-known for strict adherence to the religion of Islam.
The Interior Ministry and the Prosecutor General's Office said in a joint statement the law enforcement authorities had been informed about an armed criminal squad operating "under religious guise," which was planning to destabilize the domestic socio-political situation, stage provocations, mass disturbances and terrorist attacks. A confirmation of this information was followed by necessary measures.
T. Bagirov, Elman Agaev, Zulfugar Mikailov and Abulfaz Bunyatov were planning to set up a Muslim Union with the aim to overthrow the country's constitutional system and create a religious state governed by the Sharia law, the authorities said in the statement. These individuals rallied like-minded people in Baku and elsewhere in the republic, and having armed them with various firearms, explosive substances and devices, set up a criminal squad, the statement says.
At their illegal meetings in Nardaran, just outside the capital, they were discussing plans to organize a popular revolt against the government, issued relevant instructions to their supporters and distributed leaflets among the population, the statement said. Each squad member received specific instructions, some of them were entrusted with organizing terror attacks against officials, the law enforcement authorities said.
Police conducted a special operation, during which gunfire and hand grenades were used against police officers. The special operative team fired back, eliminating four gang members and injuring several more, the statement said.
The evidence collected from the scene included a large amount of automatic rifles, hand grenades and cold weapons. Police arrested 14 members of the criminal gang led by T. Bagirov and handed them over to investigators.