Native of Gimry, who fought in Syria, heads militants of mountainous Dagestan

A man, who fought in Syria, has become the leader of militants in the mountainous part of Dagestan. This cannot but indicate the established links of "Imarat Kavkaz" with the "Islamic State" (IS), say Akhmet Yarlykapov and Mikhail Roschin. Ruslan Martagov does not rule out activation of militants in the Caucasus.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Mukhammad Suleimanov (Abu Usman of Gimry), a Sharia Judge and leader of Dagestan militants, became the new leader of "Imarat Kavkaz", which is recognized as a terrorist organization in Russia and the USA.

The above experts were sceptical about possible mass return of North-Caucasian Syrian warriors to their homeland, noting that the oath itself suggests that militants are not going to close the "Imarat Kavkaz" project, while the return of militants from Syria to Russia will be prevented by Russian power agents.

The information about the appointment of a man from Gimry, who fought in Syria, to be the commander of the mountainous Dagestan was posted on one of the websites, supporting militants in Northern Caucasus.

This appointment looks "logical" in terms of "Imarat Kavkaz", which tries to resist the penetration of the IS to the territory of Russia, says Akhmet Yarlykapov, a senior researcher at the Centre of Ethno-Political Studies of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS).

Ruslan Martagov, a Chechen historian, political analyst and a former consultant of the "Antiterror" Foundation, said that the above man managed to get into Russia, despite the claims of the FSB that terrorists will not be able to return to the Caucasus from the Middle East.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.