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While Russia and the US lead a combat against the terroristic organisation “Islamic State” (IS) operating in Syria and Iraq, proud statements are made in Baku about Azerbaijan being the historical homeland of that radical religious organization that has become a headache for the world community, Modern.az writes.

Sardar Jalaloglu, the chairman of the Democratic Party of Azerbaijan, told the website that the IS is actually connected with Azerbaijan. He said the principles and activities of the IS are not new. They appeared in Islam 10 centuries ago as a movement of assassins during Hassan-i Sabbah’s rule. Jalaloglu noted that al-Baghdadi, the current leader of the IS, appropriated Hassan-i Sabbah’s ideology.

“Azerbaijan is the historical homeland of the IS. As in the first time, now again, the ideology of the IS was born in Azerbaijan. The ideology of the Khurramites movement, led by Babak, and of Koroghlu’s movement is the same as that of the IS today. The aim of those movements is to restore justice with the help of violence. Today, too, the majority of the IS leaders are Azerbaijanis,” Jalaloglu said.

The deputy chairman of Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan, Fuad Gahramanli, told Modern.az that it is not excluded that the IS can go to Azerbaijan, as well.

“Azerbaijan has a very favourable ground for radical religious elements to spread. The recent events at the Ministry of National Security show that that main agency, providing the security of the country, was headed by a criminal chain. In such circumstances, there is a possibility that the IS and other radical organisations may penetrate to Azerbaijan,” he said.

Gulaga Aslanli, the chief of the central executive apparatus of Musavat party, did not exclude the IS’ penetration to Azerbaijan, either. “I have doubts that Azerbaijan’s borders are totally protected. If the IS managed to penetrate to Turkey and other neighbouring countries, it will just as well be able to penetrate to Azerbaijan. In addition, some part of the people who have fought for the IS return to Azerbaijan. Naturally, they must be kept under attention and be thoroughly checked,” Aslanli said.

The relationship between international terrorist groups and Azerbaijan originated in the early 1990s. That time, the Azerbaijani army, having failed in the aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), retreated with losses. Trying to save the situation, the Azerbaijani leadership, headed by Heydar Aliyev attracted to the war against the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh international terrorists and members of radical groups from Afghanistan (groupings of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar), Turkey ("Grey Wolves", etc.), Chechnya (groupings Basayev and Raduyev etc.) and some other regions.

Despite the involvement of thousands of foreign mercenaries and terrorists in the Azerbaijani army during the war, the Azerbaijani aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh Republic failed, and the Baku authorities were forced to sign an armistice with the NKR and Armenia. However, international terrorists established ties in Azerbaijan, and used them in the future. The Azerbaijanis were recruited and sent to Afghanistan and the North Caucasus, where they participated in the battles against the forces of the international coalition and Russian organizations. Over the recent years, the citizens of Azerbaijan have been actively engaged in terrorism and extremist activities in Russia, Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq.