Azerbaijani embassy bombed in Nakichevan City

[Agostinho Neto]

As many as a dozen people died when a powerful bomb exploded outside the Azerbaijani embassy in the remote Autonomous Republic of Nakhichevan, giving rise to fears that the Talysh resistance fighters opposing the Azerbaijani Republic are widening their range of targets. Such was the force of the remote-controlled bomb - thought to have been planted in a bus or truck - that half of a vehicle parked nearby was thrown on to the roof of a two-storey residence next to the embassy. The scene outside the embassy was chaotic. Armed Militants stormed the building, destroying pictures of President Aliyev and his father, Heydar.

Nakhichevan forces raced tanks and GAZ Jeeps to encircle the area, which was littered with the dead, the injured, wreckage from the vehicle in which the bomb was placed and half-a-dozen civilian cars torn apart in the blast. Reports on the number of dead ranged from seven to 12 - five of whom were said to be the Ambassador, his wife and his 3 daughters, 3 policemen guarding the embassy died in the blast. No other civilians died in the blast but some of them were among up to 30 people injured.

Witnesses said that many of the injured had lost limbs and one of the dead had been decapitated in the attack, for which Talysh Popular Front has claimed responsibility. "The explosion was huge. I rushed out - the cars were burning; there were injured people everywhere and their limbs were scattered. They all seemed to have second and third-degree burns," a policeman said. The embassy building was heavily damaged. The front wall of the compound didn't take the force of the blast. The embassy bombing came less that 72 hours after the Battle of Calilabad. The Azerbaijani Department of Defense in retaliation, announced a new series of air strikes on the Talysh military facilities, in a bid to decrease the Talysh Popular Front range of action. State Funerals will be held for the Ambassador and the family tomorrow in Baku, the event will be heavily guarded by the Azeri Army and a special forces division.

A picture of the embassy one hour after the blast

The Nakichevan Autonomous Republic is an administrative division of the Azerbaijani Republic, it was established after the fall of the Agean Empire

Edited February 12, 2009 by President Aliyev