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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Six Caucasus Emirate commanders transfer allegiance to IS |
| 2015-01-03 |
| Sixteen months after the death of Chechen Republic Ichkeria President Doku Umarov in the fall of 2007, the continued viability of the Caucasus Emirate (IK) is open to question. Over the past six weeks, at least three Chechen and three Dagestani commanders have retracted their oath of obedience (bayat) to Umarov's successor as Caucasus Emirate leader, the Avar theologian Sheikh Ali Abu-Muhammad (Aliaskhab Kebekov), and instead pledged loyalty to Islamic State leader Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi. Sultan Zaynalabidov, Rustam Aselderov, Abu-Mukhammad Agachaulsky, Makhran Saidov and two other commanders known as Khamzat and Usman are now loyal to the IS. How many more rank-and-file jihadis have done the same is not clear, but Kebekov's warning about an imminent split within the insurgency suggests the number is significant. Experts are unclear why the realignment has happened. It is possible that some Islamic radicals in Russia may be turned off by a more "moderate" approach, or that generational disagreements may be a factor. |
| Posted by:ryuge |