According to Azerbaijani Security Minister Eldar Mahmudov, the country’s security forces discovered a plot hatched by local al-Qaeda operatives to recruit young Azeri women for suicide bombing missions, Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported on 10 April. In a speech he gave on occasion of the security forces’ 87th anniversary, Mahmudov noted, “Although our experience is extensive in countering radical religious and terrorist organizations, news about the now neutralized Caucasus al-Qaeda group that was planning to enlist Azeri girls for a division of suicide bombers is surely the worst discovery we’ve made over the past few years.” Mahmudov said that whereas five years ago most terrorists detained in Azerbaijan were using the country as a stopover to other destinations or as a place to prepare for terrorist acts to be carried out in other countries, today Azerbaijan itself has become a target for terrorists. (www.ng.ru, April 10)