Military experts state militants activation in Northern Caucasus

The incident in Grozny and the shootout in Dagestan are not directly interrelated, but evidence to some militants' revitalization in Northern Caucasus, the experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 23, the attack on the police took place in the Leninsky District of Grozny, not far from the residence of the Chechen leader and the Grozny City complex. The "Islamic State"* claimed that a local resident killed in a shootout was its militant.

The attacks in Dagestan and Chechnya are hardly related to each other, since they had different goals and different character, Sergey Goncharov, the President of the International Association of Veterans of the "Alfa" Anti-Terror Unit, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"There are big doubts that the attacks had been coordinated. According to the information that I received from Dagestani and Chechen law enforcement sources, in Dagestan, militants tried to attack policemen to seize their firearms, whereas in Chechnya, they had prepared to commit a terror act; and the preparation was successfully interrupted," Mr Goncharov has noted.

In his opinion, the incidents indicate some revitalization of militants in Northern Caucasus.

"I don't exclude that after the defeat in the Middle East, members of the "Islamic State"* began returning to their homelands – in this case, to the republics of Northern Caucasus. After all, it is no secret to anyone that Russians were among the militants who fought in Syria. Now, they organize groupings or commit attacks themselves," Mr Goncharov has concluded.

Half a year without shots is a long time for Dagestan and Chechnya, said Gennady Gudkov, a retired FSB Colonel and now – a State Duma MP.

In his opinion, the above incidents are interconnected, but only by the fact that this is a sort of a public reaction to the economic and political situation in the region.

"Obviously, the degree of irritation, aggression, hatred is increasing, which inevitably leads to radicalization. And then recruiters appear immediately. Shootouts and attacks begin; and mistrust in the authorities and law enforcement bodies is growing," Mr Gudkov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

* "Islamic State" (IS, former ISIL) is a terrorist organization banned in Russia by the court

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 25, 2019 at 06:21 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.