IS unit leaders still stay in Northern Caucasus, experts assert

Reporter Orkhan Djemal and political analysts Akhmet Yarlykapov and Ruslan Martagov cast doubt on the FSB Chief's statements about the killing of 20 leaders of the "Islamic State" (IS) in Northern Caucasus. According to the reporter and the political analysts, the most authoritative and influential leaders of the IS have survived.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that today, FSB Chief Alexander Bortnikov has stated that in 2015, out of 26 leaders of criminal groupings, who swore allegiance to the "Islamic State" in Northern Caucasus, 20 were killed.

Rustam Asilderov (Abu Mokhammad al-Kadari) was one of the first militant leaders, who swore allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. In June, Rustam Asilderov was appointed a leader of the IS unit in Northern Caucasus. This was noted by Forbes reporter Orkhan Djemal.

According to the expert, Rustam Asilderov "is free, and he is still engaged in terrorist activities." Orkhan Djemal believes that the killed IS militants "were leaders of small groupings only."

Law enforcers killed "only minor IS leaders operating in Russia." This opinion was expressed by political analyst Ruslan Martagov, a consultant of the "Anti-Terror" foundation (in the period of 2005-2008). He has suggested that the militants who returned from Syria will be able together with IS leaders in Northern Caucasus "to organize serious resistance to the law enforcement bodies in Russia."

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