Public Service Announcement: This Is An Academic Blog NOT A PRO-JIHAD SITE

It has been brought to my attention that some individuals are apparently incapable of reading the About page or any of my posts, and based on the title of this blog are laboring under the delusion that it a pro-jihad site run by Chechens.

I had thought this was patently obvious…

This blog tracks North Caucasian militants in Syria and Iraq and the impact of their participation in the Syrian battlefield on the insurgency in the North Caucasus.

UPDATE: Has The Crimean Jamaat Pledged Bay’ah To Nusra?

An informed source has said that the Крымский Джамаат (Crimean Jamaat) has pledged allegiance to Nusra. I am leaving the headline as a question, though, because I have not been able to confirm it by asking the Crimean Jamaat themselves or seeing a statement from them. Continue reading UPDATE: Has The Crimean Jamaat Pledged Bay’ah To Nusra?

Jihadi Poetry: ‘The Mujahideen Of The Caucasus Are Strong!’

As I have mentioned before and elsewhere, I am interested in Russian-language jihadi poetry and writing. I am collecting poems as well as the writings of fighters themselves, in order to write something more in depth about them. But in the meantime, here is a poem that I found recently… Continue reading Jihadi Poetry: ‘The Mujahideen Of The Caucasus Are Strong!’

JMA Statement On Pledging Bay’ah To Jabhat Al-Nusra

Because I am a completist I have translated the statement given by Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (JMA) on pledging allegiance to Jabhat al-Nusra. Continue reading JMA Statement On Pledging Bay’ah To Jabhat Al-Nusra

Now It’s Official: JMA Has Joined Jabhat al-Nusra

After months of speculation — well, since June when the group split, and the Caucasus Emirate (IK) in Syria left — Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar has joined Jabhat al-Nusra, Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria.

Before I translate the official announcement from White Minaret, Nusra’s Russian language media wing — which contains some FASCINATING information — here are a few points to bear in mind (based on questions I have been asked…):

Continue reading Now It’s Official: JMA Has Joined Jabhat al-Nusra

Uzbek-Led Katiba Sayfullah (Nusra) Involved In Abu Duhour Air Base Assault

The Uzbek-led battalion Katiba Sayfullah, which is part of Al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra (JAN) has published a promotional video via its White Minaret media wing about its participation in the assault and capture of the Syrian government Abu Duhour Air Base in Idlib province. Continue reading Uzbek-Led Katiba Sayfullah (Nusra) Involved In Abu Duhour Air Base Assault

JMA Has (Another) New Emir, & He’s Saudi

Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (JMA), the formerly Chechen-led group based in Aleppo province, has elected yet another new emir, the second following the ouster of its former leader Salakhuddin Shishani in June. Continue reading JMA Has (Another) New Emir, & He’s Saudi

Salakhuddin Shishani Makes First Video Address Since Ouster From JMA

Salakhuddin Shishani, the emir (commander) of the Imarat Kavkaz v Shame (Caucasus Emirate in Syria) group has made his first video address since his ouster from Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar this summer. Continue reading Salakhuddin Shishani Makes First Video Address Since Ouster From JMA

Russia Just Killed A Syria Returnee in Dagestan Counter Terror Op

Security forces in Dagestan have killed a militant who studied, trained and fought in Syria, according to pro-Caucasus Emirate social media posts and the Russian media, citing security sources. Continue reading Russia Just Killed A Syria Returnee in Dagestan Counter Terror Op

Ansar Al-Sharia, A Pankisi Kist Led Jamaat In Latakia

Ansar al-Sharia is a Latakia-based jamaat led by a Kist (ethnic Chechen) from Georgia’s Pankisi Gorge, Al-Bara Pankiski. Continue reading Ansar Al-Sharia, A Pankisi Kist Led Jamaat In Latakia

Furat Media Releases New Video Featuring Deso Dogg

IS’s Furat Media, led by Abu Jihad, has used German former rapper-turned-militant Deso Dogg aka Denis Cuspert for their new recruitment new video, “Rejoice In The Deal You Have Secured.”

Which sounds like a mortgage lender advert, but it’s not. In true Abu Jihad fashion, the video is a whopping 32 minutes long.*

I wrote about Cuspert’s part in this video here for RFE/RL where I wrote a little bit about the wider significance of the video.

Here are some more thoughts/ notes on the video. I do not have time to transcribe the whole video but there are some excerpts below from some of the speeches and a translation of Cuspert’s speech — or at least of the Russian subtitles.

This video is a self- congratulatory showreel, really, in which Abu Jihad and his Furat Media group have managed to gather together all of the popular Dagestani preachers he has recruited — including Nadir Abu Khalid, Akhmed Medinsky and Kamil Abu Sultan ad-Daghestani (Sultanakhmedov) — into one lineup and have them perform.

The theme of the video is the establishment of IS’s “province” in the North Caucasus, Vilayat Kavkaz.

Sultanakhmedov opens by greeting “the residents of the Caucasus in general and in particular to the mujahideen who have become part of this global project which our ummah has awaited for over 100 years.”

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He then addresses Rustam Asildarov, aka Emir Abu Muhammad Kadarsky, the leader of the Vilayat Kavkaz, saying that he has become the Wali of the residents of the North Caucasus in general,

Here’s Nadir Abu Khalid.

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And here’s Medinsky, who is a real rabble rouser and perhaps the most charismatic of the lineup. As I said, I don’t have time to translate all their speeches but they are on the same topic: join IS in the North Caucasus because it brings prestige.

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I did translate Cuspert’s speech, since I used some of it in the RFE/RL story above. At least, I translated the Russian subtitles since I don’t speak German:

First I would like to greet my dear brothers in Vilayat Kavkaz with the best of greetings. I praise Allah who made you a part of this caliphate and made your province its province. This is the grace of Allah, that he took you out of decline and chaos and gave you light, the light of the caliphate, the light of victory. The light that lights up your path to paradise and which will lead you to the highest level. This was the reason for the blood shed by your martyrs. The blood that has been flowing for several years. Today we are in the land of the caliphate, in teh land of Sham. We decided to send a greeting to the vilayat Kavkaz, to our dear brother mujahideen. Dear brothers, this message, my little part. It is an honor for me to greet you and to see you as a part of us. We have pledged allegiance to the leader of the believers and you have pledged allegiance to him. We fought for this and you fought for this. And at the end of the journey there will be paradise, inshallah. Dear brothers, this is a message to the Chechen and Daghestani youth and the youth from all the rest of Vilayat Kavkaz. O, my brother mujahideen, O youth, I call on you to join the caravan of the caliphate. Join the vilayat Kavkaz. Those who have not yet pledged allegiance, I call on you to pledge the leader of the true believers. Hurry to wage jihad! Be a part of this caliphate… Allah called us together so that we woudl be in the same ranks.

I mentioned in my RFE/RL piece that Deso Dogg has been photographed alongside North Caucasian militants before — i.e. Muslim Shishani’s jamaat, Junud al-Sham. Here’s that pic, shared by the group of German media activists who used to be in charge of Muslim’s propaganda (it is likely they had a connection with Cuspert).

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* The only glimmer of amusement here is wondering how on earth Deso managed to sit still through the roughly 25 minutes of preaching that was not his in a language I presume he does not speak.