The North Caucasus insurgent website Kavkazcenter has posted a statement in the name of rebels from the North Caucasus fighting in Syria pledging support for Aliaskhab Kebekov (aka Ali Abu-Mukhammad), who recently succeeded Doku Umarov as head of the North Caucasus Emirate, proclaimed by Umarov in 2007.The statement is signed by Abdul-Khalim Ash-Shishani, a member of the Shariat Committee of, and a spokesman for, the Djeish Mukhadjirin va Ansar (Brigade of Migrants and Ansars ) group that is made up of foreign fighters, primarily from the North Caucasus.
Ash-Shishani expresses regret at Umarov's death, but says the news that Kebekov, the "elder brother and mentor of the [Caucasus] Emirate's Muslim youth," had been chosen to succeed him was "healing balsam to Muslims' bleeding hearts." In the name of his militants, Ash-Shishani swears allegiance to Kebekov for as long as he abides by the teachings of the Koran.
Ash-Shishani further affirms the preparedness of his men to return to the North Caucasus to fight under Kebekov's command. He exclaims, "Know, Oh Sheikh, that you have fighters on the territory of the North Caucasus and Sham [Syria], on the territory of other countries, and they are all ready to return home at the first opportunity and fight under your leadership."
Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov has publicly expressed concern about the possibility that Chechens currently fighting in Syria might return to wage jihad. He claimed that there are "thousands" of militants in Syria who post video footage on a daily basis declaring their readiness to move on to the North Caucasus once the fighting in Syria is over.
It was in Syria that Kebekov studied Islamic theology in the early 2000s under his own nephew, Murtuzali Magomedov. Russian journalist Orkhan Djemal writes that it was Magomedov's unresolved killing in 2009 that caused Kebekov to join the insurgency.
One of Kebekov's first public statements as Caucasus Emirate chief was addressed to rebels from the North Caucasus fighting in Syria. He recalled that he had warned them before their departure for Syria that "we do not want you to form a detachment named 'Imarat Kavkaz,'" but instead to join the foremost group fighting under the banner of monotheism, subordinate themselves to its commander, and not allow themselves to be drawn in to any dispute among the various anti-Assad forces.
Kebekov appeals for them to "not on any account take part" in the fighting between Al-Qaeda's Islamic State of Iraq and Ash-Shams (ISIS) and more moderate groups. Djeish Mukhadjirin va Ansar commander Salakhuddin Shishani said that his men are neutral in that conflict, although they have provided medical care to wounded ISIS militants.