Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Caucasus Province

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Caucasus Province (ISIL-CP; Arabic: الدولة الإسلامية في العراق والشام - ولاية القوقاز‎, ad-Dawlah al-Islāmiyah fī 'l-ʿIrāq wa-sh-Shām – Wilayah al-Qawqaz, Russian: Вилаят Кавказ Исламского государства Ирака и Леванта, Vilayat Kavkaz Islamskogo gosudarstva Iraka i Levanta)[1] is a branch of the militant Islamist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), active in the North Caucasus region of Russia. ISIL announced the group's formation on 23 June 2015 and appointed Rustam Asildarov as its leader.[2][3]

Caucasus Province
ولاية القوقاز (Wilayah al-Qawqaz)
Вилаят Кавказ (Vilayat Kavkaz)
Leaders
Dates of operation23 June 2015 (2015-06-23)[1] – present
Active regionsNorth Caucasus
Ideology
Part of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Opponents Russia
 Georgia
 Azerbaijan
 Armenia
Battles and warsInsurgency in the North Caucasus

Background

Starting in November 2014, mid-level commanders of the Caucasus Emirate militant group began publicly switching their allegiance from Emirate leader Aliaskhab Kebekov to ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, following al-Baghdadi and his group's declaration of a caliphate earlier in the year.[4] By February 2015, many commanders of the Emirate's branches in Chechnya (Vilayat Nokhchicho) and Dagestan (Vilayat Dagestan) had defected.[4][5] Kebekov and senior loyalists within the Emirate released statements denouncing them, and accused the most senior defector, Rustam Asildarov, of betrayal.[6][7] Further pledges of allegiance to al-Baghdadi occurred in June 2015 by Vilayat Nokhchicho leader Aslan Byutukayev,[8] and in an audio statement purportedly made by militants in Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, and Kabardino-Balkaria.[9]

History

On 23 June 2015, ISIL's spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani accepted these pledges and announced the creation of a new Wilayah, or Province, covering the North Caucasus region. Adnani named Asildarov as the ISIL leader of this area and called on other militants in the region to follow him.[10][11]

The group claimed responsibility for its first attack, on a Russian military base in southern Dagestan, on 2 September 2015.[12] In a video also released in September, Asildarov called on ISIL supporters in the Caucasus to join the fight there, rather than travel to Iraq and Syria.[13]

On 4 December 2016, Russian security services reported that they had killed Asildarov and four of his associates in a raid on a house in Makhachkala.[14]

On 18 February 2018, a 22-year-old man opened fire on a church in Kizlyar, Dagestan, killing 5 and injuring 5. The attacker was later killed by security forces and a video later emerged of the attacker pledging allegiance to the Islamic State, while the Islamic State also claimed responsibility.[15]

On 20 August 2018, multiple terrorists of young age attacked a police station in Grozny with knives and injured at least 7 police officers. All terrorists were killed; the Islamic State claimed responsibility.[16]

In early January 2019, the group claimed responsibility for the 2018 Magnitogorsk building collapse, and an attack the following day. The group said that the building collapse was caused by bombings. The claim was, however, dismissed by some Russian investigators, who said that the cause of the building collapse was most likely a gas leak.[17]

On 25 January 2019, a group of policemen were attacked by a gunman, in the settlement of Sernovodskoye (Kursky district), causing the injuries of two policemen. The policemen fired back, killing the attacker, whose body was later found next to a Kalashnikov in a forest. The Islamic State group later claimed responsibility for the attack.[18][19]

On 12 April 2019, in an extensive operation involving Alpha Group, local police and Rosgvardia, 2 heavily armed ISIS terrorists were killed in city of Tyumen. These terrorists were planning to attack the city's public place.

On 23 June 2019, a knife-wielding terrorist attacked two police officers just outside Ramzan Kadyrov's residence in Grozny. The assailant was then killed by the police. A hunting rifle was reportedly found in his car. The Islamic State group later claimed responsibility for the attack.[20]

On 2 July 2019, a law enforcement officer was killed and several others injured at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Bamut, when a terrorist managed to attack police officers with a knife and a hand grenade. The Islamic State group later claimed responsibility for the attack.[21]

Designation as a terrorist organization

ISIL-CP was designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) organization by the United States on 29 September 2015; Aslan Avgazarovich Byutukaev was listed as a SDGT individual on 13 July 2016.[22]

See also

References
  1. "Designations of Foreign Terrorist Fighters". State.gov. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  2. "Islamic State moves in on al-Qaeda turf". BBC News. 25 June 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  3. "ISIS Declares Governorate in Russia's North Caucasus Region". Institute for the Study of War. 23 June 2015. ISIS's spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani declared the creation of a new wilayat, or governorate, in the North Caucasus region of Russia on June 23, 2015. Al-Adnani named 'Abu Mohammad al-Qadari' the leader of the group, and congratulated 'the soldiers of the Islamic State' in the Caucasus.
  4. "Caucasus Emirate and Islamic State Split Slows Militant Activities in North Caucasus". Jamestown Foundation. 13 February 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  5. Liz Fuller (2 January 2015). "Six North Caucasus Insurgency Commanders Transfer Allegiance To Islamic State". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  6. "Dagestani jihadist swears allegiance to Islamic State, invoking backlash". Long War Journal. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  7. "New jihadist leader in Dagestan denounces Islamic State defectors". Long War Journal. 16 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  8. "What Caused the Demise of the Caucasus Emirate?". Jamestown Foundation. 18 June 2015.
  9. "Two North Caucasus Rebel Leaders Face Off in Islamic State–Caucasus Emirate Dispute". The Jamestown Foundation. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2015. We testify that all Mujahideen of the Caucasus—in the Velayats of Nokhchiycho [Chechnya], Dagestan, Galgaicho [Ingushetia] and KBK [Kabarda, Balkaria and Karachay]—are united in their decision and we do not have differences among ourselves.
  10. "Islamic State spokesman calls on other factions to 'repent', urges sectarian war". The Long War Journal. 23 June 2015. Baghdadi, the 'Emir of the Faithful', has 'accepted your bayat and has appointed the noble sheikh Abu Muhammad al Qadarī as Wali [or governor] over [the Caucasus]', Adnani says.
  11. "ISIS Declares Governorate in Russia's North Caucasus Region". Institute for the Study of War. 23 June 2015.
  12. "Islamic State's Caucasus 'province' claims first official attack on Russian forces". Long War Journal. 2 September 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  13. "IS's North Caucasus Affiliate Calls For Recruits To Join It In Daghestan". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  14. "Russian security service says killed North Caucasus Islamic State 'emir'". AFP. 4 December 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  15. "Russia Dagestan shooting: Five women killed in attack on churchgoers". BBC News. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  16. "Estado Islámico golpea en Rusia".
  17. "Islamic State Claims Responsibility for Deadly Russian Apartment Blast — Reports". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  18. "Установлена личность обстрелявшего полицейских на окраине н.п. Серноводское" (in Russian). bakdar.org. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  19. "IS claims attack on Chechen security forces in Stavropol Krai in Naba 167 'exclusive'". Site Intel Group. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  20. "Islamic State claims attack on Chechen leader's home in Grozny". FDD's Long War Journal. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  21. "Islamic State claims killing of Chechnya police officer in grenade and knife attack". The DefensePost. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  22. U.S. Department of State. "Designated ISIS Branches and Individuals". Retrieved 23 January 2019.
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