Political analysts: in KBR "Imarat Kavkaz" has not given up to ISIL

In the opinion of political analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot", in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR), militants of the "Imarat Kavkaz" treat members of the "Islamic State" (IS) as rivals. However, they believe that the murder in Nalchik of Robert Zankishiev, the leader of the local IS unit, did not strengthen the positions of "Imarat Kavkaz".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 10, Robert Zankishiev, the leader of the local branch of the "Islamic State" (IS), was shot dead during the special operation in Nalchik.

"In the KBR, 'Imarat Kavkaz' has refused to be identified with the IS," Mikhail Roschin, a senior fellow at the Centre for Studying Central Asia, Caucasus and Ural-Volga Region of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"The murder of Zankishiev doesn't mean that 'Imarat Kavkaz' has become stronger or began acting differently. We can only state that an opponent was liquidated. I think that we can't state that liquidation of an IS adherent automatically turns into stronger 'Imarat'," Mr Roschin has concluded.

Zankishiev swore to the IS within the overall trend among militants, waiting for support and funding from the IS, Ruslan Martagov, a political scientist and a former consultant (in 2005-2008) of the "Anti-Terror" Foundation, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"Perhaps, he expected the IS to notice him and provide with funding. Zankishiev thought he could pull the blanket over, but he failed," said Martagov.

In his opinion, the murder of Zankishiev will not affect the "Imarat Kavkaz", which "lives his own life" and does not depend on external forces.

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