The Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency has released a short video purportedly showing the four young males responsible for attacks on police in Chechnya yesterday. Chechen authorities have said the attackers were all younger than 17 years-old, with the youngest being just 11. Amaq’s video shows youth in that age range swearing allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi.
The Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency has claimed responsibility for a jihadist’s assault on police in Grozny on Mar. 20. Amaq released a video of the alleged perpetrator swearing allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi prior to his day of terror. The video is similar to a string of other clips released by Amaq since mid-2016.
The Pentagon announced that 11 al Qaeda operatives were killed in a pair of airstrikes near Idlib, Syria earlier this month. One of them, Abu Hani al Masri, is described as “a legacy al Qaeda terrorist with ties to the group’s senior leaders, including Ayman al Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden.”
The US-led coalition has killed 13 Islamic State leaders in and around Mosul, Iraq in the past month. Three of them were Chechens, highlighting the important role that foreign fighters play in the group’s chain of command. According to Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman Colonel John Dorrian, another fallen jihadist was responsible for manufacturing chemical weapons to be used in the defense of Mosul.
The State Department has added a former Guantanamo detainee, Ayrat Nasimovich Vakhitov, to the US government’s list of designated terrorists. According to press reports, Vakhitov was recently arrested in connection with the terrorist attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport. Also designated today is Aslan Avgazarovich Byutukaev, who leads the Islamic State’s forces in Chechnya.
The State Department has added Aliaskhab Kebekov (also known as Ali Abu Muhammad al Dagestani), who heads the Islamic Caucasus Emirate, to the US government’s list of specially designated global terrorists. State notes that Kebekov has proclaimed his organization’s “structural subordination” to al Qaeda.
Russia says Muhammad cartoon publication illegal
Chechen Leader Kadyrov Doesn’t Consider IS A Threat To Russia
Islamic State Militant Seeks Chechen Wife For 15-Year-Old Child Fighter
Chechnya human rights office set on fire
Germany Reportedly Concerned About Radicalization Of Chechen Diaspora
Syrian link suspected in Chechen murder in Ankara
Chechen IS Militants In Kobani Vow To Save Kurds From Communism
Russian Media Suggests Moscow ‘Grand Theft Auto’ Gang Linked To Islamic State, Central Asia
Kadyrov: ‘Most Chechens In Syria Grew Up In Western Countries’
Interview with an Islamic State Recruiter: ‘Democracy Is For Infidels’
Russia will stand its ground despite ISIS threats
One Year After Leader’s Death, North Caucasus Insurgency Soldiers On
Russia keeps its eye on the Islamic State
Abu Muhammed al Adnani is the Islamic State’s controversial spokesman. Said Arif is a seasoned jihadist who has traveled to several battlefields and is now with the Al Nusrah Front in Syria.
Chechen in Syria a rising leader in extremist group
Chechen leader denies sending troops to Ukraine
Kadyrov Denies Chechen Military Involvement in Ukraine Fighting
The Diyala Division praised 26 suicide bombers, including foreign fighters from Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Tajikistan, Chechnya, and Denmark.
ISIS enforces strict religious law in Raqqa
Latest Report Of Umarov’s Death Leaves Details Unclear
Umarov was rumored to have been killed late last year, but his death has not been confirmed by the Islamic Caucasus Emirate until now.
Kadyrov Launches New Assault On Chechens’ Collective Historic Memory
The Secret Battles Between US Forces and Chechen Terrorists
An Olympics in the Shadow of a War Zone