BEYOND SYRIA IRAQ

BEYOND THE MIDDLE EAST
The Caucasus
■ ANNA BORSHCHEVSKAYA
PREPARED STATEMENT
ON JUNE 23, 2015, official Islamic State spokesman Abu Muhammad
al-Adnani declared the formation of a new wilayah in Russia’s North
Caucasus. Never before had IS claimed territory inside Russia.
Adnani’s announcement came just days after reports that thousands of
Islamic militants from the Caucasus Emirate (also known as Imarat Kavkaz,
or IK, Russia’s main jihadist group) had formally pledged allegiance to IS.
Imarat Kavkaz, or IS Caucasus in its post-allegiance status, had historically
targeted primarily Russian officials, but it also took credit for a number of
major attacks on civilians inside Russia, including in Moscow. The group
existed primarily underground and financed itself through criminal activities.
In May 2011, the U.S. secretary of state designated Imarat Kavkaz as
a terrorist organization under Presidential Executive Order 13224. “Imarat
Kavkaz uses bombings, shootings and attempted assassinations to provoke
a revolution and expel the Russian government from the North Caucasus
region,” the State Department said.
Only two months before Adnani’s declaration, in April 2015, Russian
Special Forces killed Aliaskhab Kebekov, then the newest leader of Caucasus
Emirate. Kebekov had reportedly sought to avoid suicide bombings
and keep civilian casualties to a minimum. His death signaled a fundamental
change in the North Caucasus, according to experts who travel to
the region. Adnani’s statement, coupled with Caucasus militants pledging
allegiance to IS, signaled the decline of Imarat Kavkaz as an organization.
IK’s pledge to IS was all the more a departure for the group because, historically,
IK had aligned itself more closely with the Taliban and al-Qaeda
than with IS.
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