Syrian Desert campaign (December 2017–present) | |||||||||
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Part of the Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
![]() ![]() ![]() Allied groups ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Units involved | |||||||||
![]() Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada "Al-Qatarji" militia "Hamisho" militia Qamr Bani Hashim Division[14] | Military of the Islamic State | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
Unknown number of SAA soldiers 1,385 IRGC-led fighters[15] |
2,000–3,000[16] 300 reinforcements (Feb. 2019)[12] | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Total: 2,168+ killed |
![]() ![]() Total: 1,285+ killed | ||||||||
161 civilians killed by IS (24 March 2019- August 2023)[21][19] Total: 3,675+ killed |
The Islamic State insurgency in the North Caucasus is ongoing terror activity of the Islamic State branch in the North Caucasus after the insurgency of the Caucasus Emirate.
Background
editIn the late 2015, the Caucasus Emirate, a jihadist group aimed to establish an independent Islamic emirate in the North Caucasus, was severely weakened due to the series of killings of its leaders by Russian security forces. This led several high–ranking members of Caucasus Emirate to pledge their allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who at the time was the leader of the transnational Islamist militant organisation Islamic State (IS).[22] On 23 June 2015, IS's spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani accepted these pledges and announced the creation of a new Province, covering the North Caucasus region. Adnani named Rustam Asildarov as the governor of this province and called on other militants in the region to follow him.[23][24] The first attack of the group occurred on a Russian military base in southern Dagestan on 2 September 2015.[25] In a video released in the same month, Asildarov called on IS supporters in the Caucasus to join the fight there, rather than travel to Iraq and Syria.[26] In December 2016, Asildarov was killed by security forces. By the end of 2017, most of the subversive and militant groups operating in North Caucasus were eliminated. On 19 December 2017, the Insurgency in the North Caucasus was officially declared over, when FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov announced the final elimination of the insurgent underground in the region.[27][28] The Caucasus Province was largely defeated as the organized force, leaving a lot of underground groups to continue the insurgency.
Timeline
edit2017
editOn 20 December, a 25-year-old militant was shot dead by a SOBR operator after he blew up an explosive device in an apartment building in Stavropol. According to authorities, he was a member of the "Zelenchukskaya" group, which pledged its allegiance to the Islamic State. Five members of the group were previously killed by security forces in Karachay-Cherkessia on 18 December.[29]
On 27 December, an explosion in Saint Petersburg supermarket injured thirteen civilians. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the incident.[30]
2018
editOn January 3, Abubakar Ustarkhanov, head of a local police department, was shot and killed in Avtury, Chechnya by a former law enforecement officer Khamzat Baymuradov. After the murder, Baymuradov tried to escape in Ustarkhanov's car, but was eventually chased down and killed in a shootout with security forces. In the past, Baymuradov was tried for helping militants.[31][32]
On 15 January, security forces reported that 46-year-old Alexei Omaev was killed after he oppened fire on policemen in Kaspiysk. According to them, Omaev was "suspected of helping militants and recruiting young people into the ranks of the Islamic State". Omaev's relatives doubted his attack, saying that he was partially paralyzed after a stabbing attack that occured ten years prior to the incident.[33]
On 10 February, two militants, Abdulla Askhabov and Yunus Ibadiev, were killed by security forces in counterterrorism operation in Ingushetia. Askhabov was reported to be fighting in the Syrian civil war on the side of the Islamic State.[34]
On 15 February, two militants, including a leader of the "Kharachi" criminal group, and one member of National Guard (Rosgvardiya) special forces was killed and four other were wounded in Dagestan during another security operation.[35][36]
On 18 February, 23-year-old Khalil Khalilov oppened fire in a church in Kizlyar, Dagestan, killing five civillians and wounding four people, including two Rosgvardiya members. He was killed by security forces while trying to escape. Khalilov was reported to be a member of an IS sleeper cell.[37][38]
On 20 March, four militants were killed by security forces in Chechnya.[39] On the same day, an IS member was killed in Grozny after he assaulted and wounded a police officer with a firearm.[40]
On 24 March, Yunus Khabibov, head of a small criminal group connected to the IS, was killed in a shootout with security forces.[41]
On 21 April, Russian authorities reported that nine militiats were killed and one special forces member was slightly wounded after security forces raided two separate buildings in the city of Derbent, Dagestan.[42]
Апрель
editFrom the end of the Insurgency in the North Caucasus, the most violent terrorist attack perpetrated by the Islamic State in Russia was the mass shooting into a church in Kizlyar on 18 February 2018 causing six deaths (including the perpetrator) and 4 injured.[43] On 21 April 2018, in a clash between Russian security forces and IS, nine IS militants were killed in Dagestan.[44] On 20 August 2018, IS launched attacks in Chechnya, injuring a number of policemen; five suspected IS members were killed.[45] On 31 December 2018, an apartment block collapse in Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. The collapse, caused by a terrorist attack by ISIS-CP, killed 39 people and injured 17 more. [46] On 24 January 2019, IS attacked a police post, leaving four IS members killed and one policeman injured in Kabardino-Balkaria.[47] On July 1, ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack on a police officer at a checkpoint in the Achkhoy-Martonovsky district of Chechnya, who was stabbed to death. The attacker was shot and killed as he threw a grenade at other officers.[48] On 20 January 2021, Aslan Byutukayev, also known as Emir Khamzat and Abubakar, a Chechen insurgent commander of the Islamic State, was killed alongside five other IS militants in a special operation launched by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Chechnya in Katyr-Yurt, Chechnya; four soldiers were injured.[49]
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ "Iran-backed militias risk dragging Iraq deeper into regional conflicts | Mamoon Alabbasi". AW.
- ^ "Palestinian Group Fighting alongside Syria's Gov't Forces in Hama". Action Group for Palestinians of Syria. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ a b "Palestinian Factions Spearheading the Syrian Desert's Battles". Enab Baladi. October 1, 2018.
- ^ "Although they have been besieged by Russia, Iran, and the regime for two years, thousands of ISIS members are still within an area of 4000 km² without any intention to launch a military operation against them". Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. 20 February 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
suffers
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "ISIS in February: regime and SDF launch large-scale security campaigns…Coalition continue co-operation with SDF to eliminate ISIS resurgence". SOHR. 29 February 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
the current situation
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Syrian desert | Russian-backed "25 Division" commander injured by explosion of ISIS' old landmine and nearly 80 airstrikes hit Syrian desert since early July 2022". Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
a force
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Mohammad Alhaj, ed. (19 August 2018). "Syrian government's political security branch seizes al-Tal city in Rif Dimashq". Smart News. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- ^ "ISIS resurgence | Many regime soldiers killed and injured in clashes in eastern Al-Raqqah, while Russian jet attacks ISIS positions in the west". Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. 19 April 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ a b c d "About 4800 ISIS members have gotten out within about 67 days since Trump's decision to withdraw out of more than 44 thousand who left the east of Euphrates". Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. 23 February 2019. Retrieved Oct 29, 2020.
- ^ "IS*IS resurgence | Two members of regime forces kil*led in two separate attacks in Deir Ezzor". Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. 27 December 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi (15 June 2021). "The Life of Ghassan Hijazi of the Qamr Bani Hashim Division". Retrieved 20 June 2021.
- ^ "إيران المتمددة فكرياً ومذهبياً وعسكرياً بأكثر من 3850 مجنداً ومتطوعاً تجابه الرفض الروسي والأخيرة تسعى لكبح جماح السيطرة الإيرانية الواسعة في سوريا". Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. 14 April 2019. Retrieved Oct 29, 2020.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
recapture
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c "ISIS withdraws from al-Bokamal city after killing about 50 of the regime forces, Iranian Forces, and militias loyal to them in 72 hours • The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights". June 11, 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Death toll update | 33 regime soldiers killed in most violent operation by "ISIS" during 2023". August 12, 2023.
- ^ a b "ISIS resurgence in 2022 | ISIS kills 611 persons in areas controlled by Syrian regime and SDF and loses 566 fighters, including successor of Al-Baghdadi • The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights".
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
SecondRussian
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Landmine explosion | Member of Republican Guard Forces killed in east Deir Ezzor desert". The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights. October 23, 2020.
- ^ "Caucasus Emirate and Islamic State Split Slows Militant Activities in North Caucasus". Jamestown Foundation. 13 February 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "ISIS Declares Governorate in Russia's North Caucasus Region". Institute for the Study of War. 23 June 2015.
- ^ "Islamic State's Caucasus 'province' claims first official attack on Russian forces". Long War Journal. 2015-09-02. Retrieved 2015-10-03.
- ^ "IS's North Caucasus Affiliate Calls For Recruits To Join It In Daghestan". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 2015-10-03. Retrieved 2015-10-03.
- ^ Нечаев А., Зайнашев Ю. Россия выиграла еще одну важнейшую битву // Взгляд.ру, 19.12.2017
- ^ (in Russian). "Абдулатипов заявил о ликвидации всех террористических групп в Дагестане". РБК. Retrieved 2019-05-08.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
20d17
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
27d17
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Начальник отдела полиции убит в чеченском селе" [Head of police department killed in Chechen village]. Caucasian Knot (in Russian). 3 January 2018. Archived from the original on 23 September 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
- ^ "Подозреваемый в убийстве полицейского в Чечне был судим за помощь боевикам" [Suspect in the murder of a policeman in Chechnya was tried for helping militants]. Caucasian Knot (in Russian). 4 January 2018. Archived from the original on 5 October 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
- ^ "Родные убитого Омаева усомнились в его нападении на силовиков" [Relatives of killed Omaev doubt his attack on security forces]. Caucasian Knot (in Russian). 16 January 2018. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
- ^ "В Ингушетии установили личности уничтоженных накануне боевиков" [Terrorist militants were identified in Ingushetia yesterday]. Interfax (in Russian). 11 February 2018. Archived from the original on 6 June 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
- ^ "В феврале 2018 года жертвами вооруженного конфликта на Северном Кавказе стали 16 человек" [In February 2018, 16 people became victims of the armed conflict in the North Caucasus]. Caucasian Knot (in Russian). 18 June 2018. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
kharachi
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "В результате стрельбы на праздновании Масленицы в Кизляре погибли пять человек" [Five people were killed as a result of shooting at Maslenitsa celebration in Kizlyar]. Kommersant (in Russian). 18 February 2018. Archived from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
- ^ "Открывшего стрельбу у церкви в Кизляре назвали членом спящей ячейки ИГ" [Kizlyar church shooter is reported to be a member of an IS [Islamic State] sleeper cell]. RBK Group (in Russian). 18 February 2018. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
- ^ "Четверо боевиков ликвидированы в Чечне" [Four militants eliminated in Chechnya]. Interfax (in Russian). 20 March 2018. Archived from the original on 6 June 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "ИГ взяла ответственность за нападение на полицейского в Чечне" [IS claimed responsibility for an attack on policeman in Chechnya]. RBK Group (in Russian). 21 March 2018. Archived from the original on 10 May 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
khabibov
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Раненый в Дербенте спецназовец на вертолете доставлен в госпиталь" [A special forces member wounded in Derbent was taken to hospital by helicopter]. Interfax (in Russian). 21 April 2018. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "Опубликован список погибших и пострадавших в результате стрельбы в Кизляре". dag.aif.ru. Feb 18, 2018. Retrieved Oct 26, 2019.
- ^ "Nine killed in Daghestan counter-terror operation". OC Media. 21 April 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- ^ "Russia/North Caucasus". CrisisWatch: August 2018. International Crisis Group. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
- ^ "Спасательная операция на месте обрушения подъезда в Магнитогорске завершена" [Rescue operation at the site of the collapse of the entrance in Magnitogorsk completed] (in Russian). 3 January 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
- ^ "CrisisWatch: Russia/North Caucasus". International Crisis Group. 1 February 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ "Russia". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
- ^ "Кадыров заявил о полной победе над бандподпольем". Kommersant.ru. 20 January 2021.
Vladislav Leontyev
editVladislav Leontyev | |
---|---|
Владислав Леонтьев | |
Born | Vladislav Vladimirovich Leontyev 5 July 1971 Gorky, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
Died | 18 December 2020 | (aged 49)
Cause of death | Stroke |
Resting place | Fedyakovo cemetery , Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia |
Nationality | Russian |
Other names |
|
Citizenship | |
Occupation(s) | Russian "thief in law", alleged key member in the Brothers' Circle |
Vladislav Vladimirovich Leontyev (Russian: Владислав Владимирович Леонтьев; 5 July 1971 – 18 December 2020),[1] nicknamed "White" (Russian: Белый, romanized: Bely) and "Blonde" (Russian: Белобрысый, romanized: Belobrysy) along with several other aliases, was a high-ranking Russian gangster and "thief in law" linked to organized crime, such as drug trafficking, embezzlement, fraud, extortion and car theft. According to the United States, Leontyev was a leader of the Brothers' Circle, an alleged transnational crime organization[2] In 2012 the United States Department of the Treasury Obama administration of the United States imposed sanctions on Leontyev as a central figure in the Brothers' Circle, a transnational crime organization, along with six other men linked to various syndicates tied into the Circle, and Japanese yakuza leaders Kenichi Shinoda and Kiyoshi Takayama.[3] 1234567891011121314
- ^ "Pre-Notification For Upcoming Designation Of Transnational Organized Criminal Elements : IDENTIFYING INFORMATION : BROTHERS' CIRCLE : Person 1 : Vladislav Vladimirovich Leontyev" (p.2) Archived 2013-01-17 at the Wayback Machine Malta Financial Services Authority
- ^ "Obama Calls "Brothers' Circle" a National Security Threat...But Who Are They?". Hetq.am. Yerevan, Republic of Armenia: HETQ investigative journalists. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
- ^ "US moves to isolate Russian, Japanese crime groups", 23 February 2012, AFP