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How ISIS Takes Revenge on Russia
[Daily Beast] CHERKESSK, Russia -- On a recent morning, armed and uniformed policemen patrolled nearly every block in downtown Cherkessk, the capital of Karachay-Cherkessia, one of six republics in Russia's Northern Caucasus. Every so often, they had to break their stride to get around the garbage that covered the dirt sidewalks, and the water-filled potholes in the broken roads that reflected the sky.Local police and federal anti-terrorism special units have re-enforced their positions all across the region, as ISIS-connected terrorist groups have targeted federal highways, attacked and murdered officials, killed tourists--and claimed credit for all these atrocities. The Northern Caucasus, with 9.7 million people, could be famous for its spectacular natural beauty, snow-peaked mountains, and health spas built around mineral springs. Instead, it's known for its shaky peace and, recently, as a focus for activity by the so-called Islamic State, which is not only recruiting from the local population, but exacting retribution for what happens on the faraway battlefields of Syria. For many young men here, ISIS has offered what seems a romantic action-oriented life, however brief, instead of the mire of poverty and unemployment that surrounds them here. An old woman in house slippers and green socks is sweeping the street outside an old mosque by the city's canal; she asks that "the dirt and poverty" in her city not be photographed. "Such shame," she says. Last year it seemed that Russian authorities had begun to win the ongoing war on terror. The number of attacks dropped by almost 50 percent, from 525 terrorist attacks in 2014 to 258 in 2015. Posted by: Besoeker 2016-02-20 |
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