Officers of Elite Russian Forces Train Chechens

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov (R) participates in evening forest training exercises (Source: YouTube screen grab)

Reports of clashes between government forces and militants in Chechnya are rare these days. However, the absence of such reports is not always due to an absence of clashes. Russia’s information policy with regard to Chechnya is pointedly positive and thus practically excludes the very possibility of clashes with the rebels. Therefore, a recent incident targeting Chechen police officers came as a big surprise. Two police officers who were searching for militants in Chechnya hit a mine. One died and the other was hospitalized. According to the scarce news reports about the explosion, the incident occurred during a special operation in a forested area near the village of Shalazhi in Urus-Martan district (http://www.kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/234523/).

It became clear that news from Chechnya is being tightly filtered on November ...

Chechen Leader Takes Up the Cause of Ethnic Kin in Syria

Ceylanpinar refugee camp in Turkey (Source: Reuters)

On August 12, Chechen militants launched a bomb attack targeting the reconnaissance group of the Russian interior ministry’s Sever Battalion, which is primarily manned by residents of the Chechen Republic (www.mk.ru/incident/article/2013/08/13/898403-chechenskie-boeviki-vzorvali-chechenskiy-spetsnaz.html). One officer died and four others were injured in the blast. That same day, military exercises started in Chechnya. All three motorized rifle brigades stationed in the republic are participating in the exercises. They are the 8th Guards Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade, which is stationed in the foothills near the city of Shali, the 17th Guards Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade, which is stationed at the village of Borzoi in the mountainous part of the republic, and the 18th Guards Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade, which is stationed in the village of Kalinovskaya near the Terek River in the Chechen ...

Caucasus Emirate Leader Discusses Chechens in Syria in New Video

Doku Umarov (R), speaking in latest video (Source: YouTube)

Six years after Doku Umarov publicly rejected the idea of Ichkerian independence in favor of the Islamic state of the Caucasus Emirate, he continues to justify this change.

In a recent video posted on August 8, Umarov responded to questions from people who reside abroad that was taped sometime in July from the militant’s base of operation somewhere in Chechnya (www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoRhgTNqjzk). First, he spoke about the numbers of his insurgency, noting that a certain number of militants bear arms while others support them in the cities and villages. According to Umarov, having large numbers of insurgents in the mountains serves no purpose at the moment. The leader of the Caucasus Emirate has a point, because challenging the Russian army in the mountains and suburbs of cities ...

Influence of Chechen Leader of North Caucasian Fighters in Syria Grows

By: Mairbek Vatchagaev

Chechen fighters in Syria (Source: YouTube)

The situation in Syria this past week developed in now typical fashion, with each of the conflicting sides claiming victories. Two events that occurred, however, should be noted. First, the armed Syrian opposition took over the strategically important Minakh military airport in the area of the city of Aleppo. Second, there was news of a split in the Chechen jamaat, Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (The Army of Emigrants and Helpers).

The siege of the airport lasted for three months and finally succeeded on August 5 after it was attacked by suicide bombers (http://ummanews.com/news/last-news/11008-2013-08-06-09-35-13.html). The group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham is in charge of the insurgent operations in this area and the Jaish al-Muhajireen wal Ansar jamaat is part of that group. Jaish al-Muhajireen wal Ansar is led ...