Complex operational-investigative measures are ongoing in criminal cases launched by the State Security Service (SSS) concerning the formation of armed criminal groups comprised of Azerbaijani citizens linked to international terrorist organizations, Azernews reports citing the SSS press service. According to the statement, these groups were engaged in plotting terrorist acts in Azerbaijan’s northern forested regions, where they established clandestine shelters and stockpiled weapons, ammunition, explosives, and technical equipment. Investigations uncovered that gang members Vugar Najafli, Jamal Gozalov, Tofig Yusifli, and Dadash Hashimov had left Azerbaijan in 2024 and took refuge in mountainous areas along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. There, they reportedly joined an international terrorist organization, received combat training, and participated in armed conflicts abroad. Through coordinated efforts with foreign intelligence and law enforcement partners, the SSS succeeded in capturing the suspects abroad and returning them to Azerbaijan to face justice. Further inquiries revealed that the terrorist activities of Yusifli and Hashimov were financed by Azerbaijani citizens Mir Javad Huseynli and Tural Agayev. Additional criminal acts by these individuals are also under investigation. All six individuals—Najafli, Gozalov, Yusifli, Hashimov, Huseynli, and Agayev—have been charged under multiple articles of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code, including Article 214-1 (financing of terrorism) and Article 283-1.3 (propagating religious extremism and participating in conflicts abroad under the guise of religious rites), among others. A court has ordered their pretrial detention. The SSS confirmed that investigative and operational measures on the case remain in progress.