Copyright © 2024 Euromaidanpress.com

The work of Euromaidan Press is supported by the International Renaissance Foundation

When referencing our materials, please include an active hyperlink to the Euromaidan Press material and a maximum 500-character extract of the story. To reprint anything longer, written permission must be acquired from [email protected].

Privacy and Cookie Policies.

Majority of Syria’s ISIS terrorists are Russian nationals & preparing to bring fight home, Moscow experts say

Majority of Syria’s ISIS terrorists are Russian nationals & preparing to bring fight home, Moscow experts say
Article by: Paul A. Goble
Edited by: Mat Babiak

ISIS, led by militants from former Soviet republics are preparing to attack in Russia’s Muslim regions, Moscow experts say.

up to 80 percent of ISIS groups in Syria are former residents of Russia’s North Caucasus & Middle Volga republics

Many of the leaders of the radical Islamic State of Iraq and Syria come from Muslim regions of the Russian Federation, and they plan to launch attacks in its regions, coming in via Afghanistan and Central Asia rather than the more direct but more difficult route across Türkiye and Iran, according to Moscow experts.

Both the danger of such new jihadist attacks in Russia and this route help to explain, commentator Ruslan Gorevoy says in surveying this expert community, why Moscow has been devoting so much attention to improving security in Central Asia in the hopes of stopping ISIS militants there.

ISIS has two centers of power, Gorevoy says, the main Iraqi one and the shadowy Syrian one. Most reportage has focused on the former and largely ignored the latter. “Why? Because almost all of its leadership without exception are people from the Soviet Union,” who “speak Russian,” and who know “about all our realities.”

The ethnic makeup of Russia's Caucasus region and other former Soviet states
The ethnic makeup of Russia’s Caucasus region and other former Soviet states
[He says that] according to the Kurdistan-24 news agency, “up to 80 percent of ISIS groups in Syria are former residents of the North Caucasus and the republics of the Middle Volga.” The remaining 20 percent, it says, “are former citizens of the Soviet republics of Central Asia. These people speak Russian more often than Arabic among themselves.”

The Central Asian countries have not been able to establish tight control over their borders, even when Moscow has provided as it has in the case of Tajikistan military units. As a result, terrorists can cross them easily and with impunity, and that is the first stage in a campaign against Russia itself, Gorevoy suggests.

He points with alarm to the recent “loss” in Kazakhstan of a 50 kilogram container of Cesium 137, something officials have tried to minimize but in fact likely is the work of terrorists, including those with links to ISIS. As a result, the commentator says, ISIS is approaching Russia’s borders and with nuclear bomb-making materials.

A major reason for the large number of Central Asians and North Caucasians in ISIS, he continues, is that the group pays well. Kyrgyz members are paid on the order of 5,000 US dollars a month, more than twice what gastarbeiters from that Central Asian country could earn in Moscow or other Russian cities.

Russia's muslim regions along the Volga
Russia’s muslim regions along the Volga

When they return home, he continues, at least some of these people are prepared to continue the fight for ISIS as recent arrests and seizures of arms in Kyrgyzstan demonstate.

Russian officials have put on a brave face about this, with Chechnya’s Ramzan Kadyrov saying that he can take care of any ISIS operatives who may appear. But experts are less sure about that, at least over the longer term.

Denis Maltsev, a senior researcher at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, says that ISIS does not threaten Russia directly at present but that it does threaten to destabilize Russia’s neighbors. And that in turn means, he concludes, that the terrorist threat inside Russia will grow. “It is only a question of time.”

[Editor’s note: The following video of Russian-speaking ISIS members is courtesy of ChechensInSyria.com]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpjBCYrRxmI&list=UURtuoOw8D5N3gX_4V5rtBGg

Edited by: Mat Babiak
You could close this page. Or you could join our community and help us produce more materials like this.  We keep our reporting open and accessible to everyone because we believe in the power of free information. This is why our small, cost-effective team depends on the support of readers like you to bring deliver timely news, quality analysis, and on-the-ground reports about Russia's war against Ukraine and Ukraine's struggle to build a democratic society. A little bit goes a long way: for as little as the cost of one cup of coffee a month, you can help build bridges between Ukraine and the rest of the world, plus become a co-creator and vote for topics we should cover next. Become a patron or see other ways to support. Become a Patron!

To suggest a correction or clarification, write to us here

You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter

Please leave your suggestions or corrections here



    Euromaidan Press

    We are an independent media outlet that relies solely on advertising revenue to sustain itself. We do not endorse or promote any products or services for financial gain. Therefore, we kindly ask for your support by disabling your ad blocker. Your assistance helps us continue providing quality content. Thank you!

    Related Posts

    January 3: More military from the Russian Federation have been arriving in Luhansk region

    Maidan Community Sector, Lviv: Dear friends!

    January 3 – No Ukrainian military have died; one was wounded in the ATO area in the last 24 hours, – informed NSDC spokesman Andriy Lysenko.

    January 3 – Russian Foreign Ministry has issued a statement that Foreign Ministers of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France insist on urgent meeting of the Contact Group to resolve the situation in Donbas.

    January 3 – The lowest price for WTI and Brent oil in the last 5.5 years was recorded on Saturday.

    January 3 – More military from the Russian Federation have been arriving in Luhansk region; attempts are being made to establish a single operations center over all terrorist groups of Luhansk region, – stated NSDC spokesman Andriy Lysenko – the National Security Council spokesman Andrei Lysenko.

    January 3 – At night and in the morning the terrorists were attacking the positions held by "Azov" regiment near the village of Telmanove, attempting a breakthrough.

    January 3 – One of the main priorities for 2015 is a high-principled, consistent and effective fight against corruption, – said the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko during his meeting with Giovanni Kessler, Director-General of European Anti-Fraud Office.

    January 3 – Travel for citizens across frontline in the ATO area will be restricted significantly – 7 transport corridors will be created and all other transport ways will be blocked, stated NSDC Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov (similarly to Gaza and Israel). According to Turchynov, movement restrictions in the ATO area are being implemented in order to carry out comprehensive counter-terrorist activity. All vehicles and individuals will be meticulously checked.

    January 3 – Part of the strategy of RF President Volodymyr Putin regarding the Ukrainian conflict is "unquestionably, also the attempt to influence public opinion in Russia itself, in Ukraine, and in Germany – including using the assistance of propaganda and the manipulation of thoughts."

    This was stated by the Head of the Committee of Foreign Affairs of the Bundestag, the deputy from the Christian-Democratic Union, Norbert Rettgen, in an interview in the publication Tagesspiegel. In view of this, he urged all to be more careful in having to deal with such acts of Kremlin. "We in Germany, have not even begun a discussion regarding this propaganda, much less even to consider our reply," noted the Head of the Bundestag Committee. The German politician turned attention to the fact that journalists of the public tv-radio companies of the Federal Republic of Germany, "who work on the materials from Eastern Ukraine and directly talk about the participation of Russia in events there", are under enormous pressure. This needs to be talked about, believes Rettgen. "When there exists an awareness of this hidden, organized influence on public thought, it ceases to attain its function," said he.

    Savchenko on day 21 of hunger strike

    P.S.: Please spread this appeal as much as possible.