The NSS did not identify the suspects and gave few details of the alleged plot. In a statement, it said that they planned to set off an explosion and assassinate a “civilian.” The latter was not identified either.
Nor did the NSS clarify whether it believes that overthrowing the Armenian government was the ultimate aim of the “terrorist acts” which it said were codenamed “Northern Leaf Fall” by the arrested persons.
The security agency released two purported audios of their conversations secretly recorded by NSS officers. In one of then, a man can be heard saying that he has many “sponsors from America and Russia” and telling another to recruit “the ones who came from Ukraine.” The two men also appeared to discuss a drone attack on an unknown target.
The NSS claimed to have found and confiscated a quadrocopter drone along with weapons and ammunition during searches conducted in the suspects’ homes and other locations. It said it also seized handwritten texts detailing the foiled conspiracy.
A purported screenshot of one such document released by the NSS calls for attracting members of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), a pro-Western fringe group increasingly critical of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. The group led by Zhirayr Sefilian, a prominent nationalist figure, did not immediately comment on that.
The NSS statement said that the alleged plotters planned to create fake Ukrainian and Moldovan social media accounts in a bid to drum up popular support for that they would have called a “national salvation revolt.”
The NSS claimed to have foiled a similar plot in late September when it arrested eight men accused of conspiring to assassinate Pashinian and seize power. The suspects include Albert Bazeyan, a once prominent politician who had served as mayor of Yerevan over two decades ago. Bazeyan denies the accusations.