Possible Signs of Internationalization of the Caucasus Emirate

Russian language text translation of Kebekov's Arabic language video to fighters in Syria. Source - Vdagestan

The weeks during and after the Sochi Olympics were relatively quiet in the North Caucasus, with 11 people killed between the closing ceremony on 23 February and 16 March. However, the past few days have been very busy in the North Caucasus with the biggest story being on 18 March -  the official announcement of the death
of Doku Umarov, the head of the Caucasus Emirate since 2007. In quick succession of the announcement by Kavkaz Center, a video was released by his successor, 42-year-old Aliaskhab Kebekov (Ali Abu Muhammad), an ethnic Avar from Dagestan. The video address by Kebekov was significant for several reason, first and foremost [to me at least] being that it confirmed that a taped conversation from January 2014 where Kebekov discussed Umarov's death, leaked presumably by Chechen security forces, was real and Umarov had been dead since well before the Olympics. The video also gave some insight in Kebekov's personality.


Since Kebekov's announcement, there have been several other very interesting developments - pointing to a firming of the status quo in the North Caucasus and an international outlook.

Ingush Vilayet's announcement of loyalty to Kebekov Source - Hunafa

First, various parts of the insurgency in the North Caucaucas have been making public online their support for the new leader, belaying some fears of fracturing within the already atomized organization. The Ingush Vilayet published an announcement on their website, Hunafa, while the fighters of the Makhchakala sector of the Vilayet of Dagestan released theirs through their website, VDagestan. A day later, the Kabardino-Balkaria-Karachai Vilayet published their announcement their website, Islamdin. Unsurprisingly, the regional websites
have been devoting considerably more coverage
on the leadership transition than Kavkaz Center, which has been focusing a great deal of its Russian language coverage to events in Ukraine (and cheering on the US and EU for recent sanctions against a number of Russian elites).

Kabardino-Balkaria-Karachai Vilayet announcement of loyalty to Kebekov Source - Islamdin

Second, Kebekov released an Arabic language video directed at fighters in Syria. It is unsurprising that Kebekov can speak decent Arabic considering he was the judge of the Emirate's Sharia court. In the video, Kebekov laments the internal fighting going on between Islamist fighters since January 2014 in Syria. He also said he was very excited when the jihad started there because "we had studied the Islamic sciences in Sham [Syria]." He additionally says that when Caucasians first started going to Syria, the leadership of the Caucasus Emirate told them not to form any group of their own called "The Caucasus Emirate" within Syria, but to join the first group which was "fighting under the banner of the tawhid." He goes on to call out the leaders of the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham and Jabhat al-Nusra bu name to end the "fitna" between them.

Third, one day after Kebekov's announcement, a previously unknown media outlet called, "Media Al-Khelafa" released two videos, one called "Address to the Mujahideen of the Caucasus and the Muslims of Russia," and the other "Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate of the Caucasus on the Territory of Khorasan [Afghanistan]." Both videos feature a Russian-speaker who blurs out his face and claims to be "Abdullah, Emir of the Caucasus Emirate in Khorasan." Both of these videos were reposted by VDagestan and other official North Caucasian insurgent media, indicating that they are possibly authentic.

Screenshot of "Address to the mujahideen of the Caucasus and the Muslims of Russia"

The first video which is an 8 minute address from Abdullah focuses on how the enemies of Islam are causing fitna between different groups. In his discussion of how everyone needs to get along, he stresses that the Caucasus Emirate's goals are part of a global movement [a line Umarov pushed since the mid-2000s, partly out of a desire to attract attention during the years when Iraq and Afghanistan were the most attractive destination for money and foreign fighters]. He also spends a significant portion of the video talking about to the Muslims of Tartarstan and other parts of the country "occupied by Russia." Interestingly he calls on Muslims to not go to political protests because they are against the Quran and Sunnah.

The second video is 22 minutes long and is a montage of clips of Doku Umarov addresses, nasheeds, and original footage of the fighters firing mortars and rockets, while yelling Russian language commands in disturbingly electronically disguised voice. At the end of the video, Abdullah speaks again to the camera with standard jihadi talk of why they are fighting the kafir and about how you should do something instead of just hanging out on the Internet.

Text reads, "Abdullah - Emir of the Mujahideen of the Caucasus Emirate on the Territory of Khorasan"

Conclusion: This is the first publicly known instance of a self-avowed member of the Caucasus Emirate fighting in Afghanistan. There have been rumors going back to initial American operations in 2001, but they were generally dismissed. It is possible, and indeed probable, that Abdullah and any other possibly Caucasian fighters with him in Afghanistan/Pakistan only arrived in the last two to three years. It is also possible that these fighters were previously in Syria or other conflict zones and could not conceivably return to the North Caucasus. In all likelihood there will be more incidence in the future of fighters with some association with the Caucasus Emirate appearing in various conflict zones, primarily due to the fact that fighters or their families who leave Russia are unlikely to return.

UPDATE (22 MARCH 2014)
Someone pointed out that a Russian-speaking Abu Abdullah who was part of a 2011 video entitled, "Message from the Mujāhidīn in Khurāsān to the Caucasus Emirate.” ( In the video, Abu Abdullah similarly addresses the Muslims of Tatarstan and other parts of Russia. However, he does not identify himself as a member of the Caucasus Emirate (or as being from the Caucasus himself). Rather, he expresses solidarity, "We, from the land of Khorasan, on behalf of the Mujahideen of the Ittihad al Jihad al-Islami (Islamic-Jihad Union) want to express our support and solidarity with the Mujahideen of the Caucasus Emirate."

Abu Abdullah in video "Message from the Mujahidin in Khurasan to the Caucasus Emirate. Source - Jihadology

Later in the video he states that some people in Ittihad al Jihad al-Islami have an association with the Caucasus Emirate [though that could just mean foreigners who fought there in the 1990s or early 2000s], "In our Jamaat, there are many brothers who were trained or fought on the lands of the Caucasus Emirate. And we know how began this Jihad, [the] Jihad in the Caucasus, and we know what was the situation there, previously. Since then, we are closely following what is happening in the Caucasus, and we are gladdened with your accomplishments and your victories, and we ask Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) to increase your achievements and give you victory."

It was postulated that the two Abdullahs could be the same guy. I do not think so. While they similarly blur/cover their faces, the 2011 Abu Abdullah's voice and cadence are different from the 2014 videos. The videos also were produced by different media outlets.