Police in Azerbaijan have arrested six people allegedly connected to the banned Islamic group Hezbe-Tahrir which has supporters throughout Central Asia and wants to establish an Islamic state in the region.

The National Security Ministry said the detainees included five Azeris and one Ukrainian.

An Uzbek was also being sought.

The ministry said the authorities, searching an apartment in Baku during the arrests, found instructions for building explosive devices.

It said that the arrested men were undertaking preliminary work for attacks on the US embassy in Baku and on the offices of an international organisation.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service