Narrative
Narrative of the Organization's History
Narrative of the Organization's History
Leadership, Name Changes, Size Estimates, Resources, Geographic Locations
Ideology, Aims, Political Activities, Targets, and Tactics
First Attacks, Largest Attacks, Notable Attacks
Foreign Designations and Listings, Community Relations, Relations with Other Groups, State Sponsors and External Influences
Mapping relationships with other militant groups over time in regional maps
The Caucasus Emirate is an Islamist-Sunni (Salafi) group based in the North Caucasus. While the Emirate’s more moderate predecessor, the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, had the nationalistic goal of secession from the Russian Federation, Caucasus Emirate founder Doku Umarov declared his intent to turn the North Caucasus into an Islamic region under Shariah by expelling the “infidels” that controlled the region. In line with the goals of AQ, Caucasus Emirate is allegedly committed to the global jihadi movement and seeks to take back lands beyond the Caucasus that were historically Muslim.[31] This change in rhetoric occurred because of heavy influence from Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and Islamic jihad.[32] Despite Umarov’s remarks, the organization continued to focus its operations on attacking Russian targets. While the 2011 Domodedovo attack and activity in Syria indicated renewed interest in global jihad, the Caucasus Emirate has not fully integrated its global aspirations with its regional operations.[33]
The Caucasus Emirate does not consider the current governing bodies in the North Caucasus, put in place by the Russian Federation, to be legitimate. It considers itself to be the only legitimate governing body in the North Caucasus and, as such, only recognizes leaders selected from within the Caucasus Emirate throughout the vilayets of the North Caucasus.[34]
The Caucasus Emirate targets Russian security forces and other Russian appointed officials that oppose the establishment of an Islamic caliphate in the North Caucasus. After the 2010 Moscow metro bombings and 2011 Domodedovo Airport attack, the organization demonstrated increasing willingness to launch large-scale attacks against civilians, especially “Russian infidels.” While Umarov and Buryatsky stated the group is pursuing global jihad against the West, most of the Caucasus Emirate’s attacks have been domestic, occurring in the North Caucasus or the Russian Federation.[35] Since 2015, most of the remaining members of the Caucasus Emirate have been fighting against the Assad regime and international counterterrorist forces in Syria and Iraq.[36]
The Caucasus Emirate uses suicide bombing as its primary mode of attack. It has also used vehicle-born improvised explosive devices, armed assaults, and targeted assassinations. The group engages in local criminal activity, including drug trafficking, robberies, and kidnappings for ransom.[37]
The Caucasus Emirate used the “Kavkaz Center” website as its official medium for publicizing its activities and claiming responsibility for attacks. The website publishes posts in Arabic, English, Russian, Turkish, and Ukrainian. [38]
Disclaimer: These are some selected major attacks in the militant organization's history. It is not a comprehensive listing but captures some of the most famous attacks or turning points during the campaign.
June 5, 2009: The CE’s Dagestani Jamaat Shariaat faction conducted a sniper attack on the Dagestan Republic Ministry of the Interior (MVD) chief, Aldigirei Magomedtagirov, in Dagestan (1 killed, 7 wounded).[39]
June 22, 2009: Said Buryatsky, the Caucasus Emirate’s main religious leader, and CE unit Riyadus-Salikhin allegedly conducted a suicide bombing of a presidential motorcade that severely wounded the Ingush president, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov (3 killed, several wounded).[40]
November 27, 2009: Caucasus Emirate exploded a train bomb on the Nevsky Express. This was the first time federal officials, including Duma member Sergei Tarasov and head of the Federal Reserves Agency Boris Yevstratikov, were among the victims (27 killed, 100 wounded).[41]
March 29, 2010: Directed by Caucasus Emirate’s leader Umarov, two female suicide bombers from Riyadus-Salikhin attacked two major Moscow Metro stations (40 killed, 100 wounded).[42]
August 29, 2010: Caucasus Emirate directed a suicide attack on the Chechen village of Tsentoroi, the hometown of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov. The attack was carried out by members of Riyadus-Salikhin (6 killed, 24 wounded).[43]
January 24, 2011: Caucasus Emirate suicide bombers attacked Domodedovo, Moscow’s largest airport. Dozens of police officers and civilians were killed or wounded as militants bomb a lounge near the international departure zone. This was the largest attack by militants in Moscow in 6 years (37 killed, 180 wounded).[44]
June 10, 2011: Butukayev authorized the murder of a former colonel of the Russian Armed Forces, Yuriy D. Budaev, in Moscow (1 killed, unknown wounded).[45]
December 29, 2013: The Vilayat Dagestan province of the Caucasus Emirate conducted a suicide bombing at a train station in Volgograd, Russia (18 killed, 44 wounded).[46]
April 3, 2014: Caucasus Emirate conducted an attack in Yandi village in Chechnya using a concealed explosive device to destroy a combat vehicle of Russian security forces (4 dead, 7 wounded).[47]
The Caucasus Emirate is popular in the North Caucasus and offers training camps and youth programs for Islamic education. Such programs, funded by foreign terrorist organizations, primarily Al Qaeda, helped to expand its youth cohort across the North Caucasus and the Russian Federation more broadly.[54]
The brutality and human rights abuses of Russian counter-terrorist operations have contributed to the radicalization of North Caucasian youth and increased recruitment of militants from the local community.[55]
The Caucasus Emirate is an overarching organization that incorporates many of the militant groups in the North Caucasus, including former militants from the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CRI), the Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (SPIR) and the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade (IIPB). The Caucasus Emirate also restored Riyadus-Salikhin Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion of Chechen Martyrs in late 2009. Since then, the group has allegedly operated under the direct orders of CE leader Umarov as a unit of the Caucasus Emirate and claimed responsibility for several high-profile attacks.[56]
The Caucasus Emirate has strong ideological and operational ties with the Taliban and Al Qaeda (AQ). In line with the goals of AQ, Caucasus Emirate is allegedly committed to the global jihadi movement and seeks to take back lands beyond the Caucasus that were historically Muslim.[57] Its shift to a jihadist ideology stemmed from its growing reliance on and support from these more globally recognized terrorist organizations.[58] Moreover, several CE emirs, including Suleymanov and Dagestani, openly declared their loyalty to AQ.
The Caucasus Emirate's links to AQ and the Taliban began prior to its formation in 2007. The main militant groups in the region—the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CRI), Riyadus-Salikhin, the Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (SPIR) and the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade (IIPB)—all had longstanding ties with AQ and the Taliban. These ties endured after the incorporation of these groups into the Caucasus Emirate.
While the Caucasus Emirate remained closely aligned with Al Qaeda, some of its members began defecting from the group to join the Islamic State (IS) from 2012. The defections of CE’s leadership began in December 2014, when Asilderov, emir of CE’s division in Dagestan, pledged his loyalty to IS and Baghdadi. The Caucasus Emirate developed a conflictual relationship with the Vilayat Kavkaz, the new IS-regional affiliate established in 2015, under the leadership of former CE emir Asilderov.[59]
The Caucasus Emirate was heavily influenced by other sub-national groups, especially the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Its shift to a jihadist ideology stemmed from a growing reliance on and support from these more globally recognized terrorist organizations.[60]
[1] Hahn, Gordon M. “Islam, Islamism, and Politics in Eurasia Report.” Monterey Institute of International Studies, 30 Nov. 2009. Web. 20 Jan. 2012.
[2] Anishchuk, Alexei. “Four Russian Servicemen Killed in North Caucasus Bomb Attack.” Reuters UK, 3 April 2014. Web. 11 April 2014.
[3] Kuchins, Andrew C., Matthew Malarkey, and Sergei Markedonov. “The North Caucasus: Russia's Volatile Frontier.” Center for Strategic and International Studies, March 2011. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.
[4] “Emarat Kavkaz | Narrative Summaries of Reasons for Listing.” UN Security Council, 29 July 2011. Web. 13 Aug. 2018.
[5] “Emarat Kavkaz | Narrative Summaries of Reasons for Listing.” UN Security Council, 29 July 2011. Web. 13 Aug. 2018.
[6] “Emarat Kavkaz | Narrative Summaries of Reasons for Listing.” UN Security Council, 29 July 2011. Web. 13 Aug. 2018.
[7] Hahn, Gordon M. “Islam, Islamism, and Politics in Eurasia Report.” Monterey Institute of International Studies, 30 Nov. 2009. Web. 21 Jan. 2012; Hahn, Gordon M. “The Petersburg Jihadi Attack in Context: Recent Developments in Jihadism in Russia, 2014 – 2017.” Gordon M Hahn, n.d. Web. 16 Aug. 2018.
[8] Moore, Cerwyn, and Mark Youngman. “Guide: The Caucasus Emirate.” Radicalisation Research, 09 Nov. 2017. Web. 16 Aug. 2018.
[9] Roggio, Bill. “Caucasus Emirate Leader Orders Halt on Attacks against Russian Civilians.” The Long War Journal, 03 Feb. 2013. Web. 11 April 2014.
[10] Fuller, Liz. “Avar Theologian Named To Succeed Umarov As Insurgency Leader.” Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, 19 March 2014. Web. 11 April 2014.
[11] Moore, Cerwyn, and Mark Youngman. “Guide: The Caucasus Emirate.” Radicalisation Research, 09 Nov. 2017. Web. 16 Aug. 2018.
[12] Hahn, Gordon M. “The Petersburg Jihadi Attack in Context: Recent Developments in Jihadism in Russia, 2014 – 2017.” Gordon M Hahn, n.d. Web. 16 Aug. 2018.
[13] “Doku Khamatovich Umarov | Narrative Summaries of Reasons for Listing.” UN Security Council, 10 March 2011. Web. 13 Aug. 2018.
[14] “Designation of Caucasus Emirate.” Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism, 26 May 2011. Web. 16 Aug. 2018.
[15] “Russia's FSB Confirms Neutralization of Chechen Militant Leader Doku Umarov.” The Voice of Russia, 08 April 2014. Web. 11 April 2014.
[16] Hahn, Gordon M. “Islam, Islamism, and Politics in Eurasia Report.” Monterey Institute of International Studies, 30 Nov. 2009. Web. 20 Jan. 2012.
[17] Roggio, Bill. “Russians capture, kill 2 top Caucasus Emirate commanders.” The Long War Journal, 13 June 2010. Web. 16 Aug. 2018.
[18] Roggio, Bill. “Russian forces kill al Qaeda’s envoy to the Islamic Caucasus Emirate.” The Long War Journal, 22 April 2011. Web. 16 Aug. 2018.
[19] Hahn, Gordon M. “Islam, Islamism, and Politics in Eurasia Report.” Monterey Institute of International Studies, 30 Nov. 2009. Web. 20 Jan. 2012; Vatchagev, Mairbek. “Killing of Said Buryatsky Unlikely to Deter North Caucasus Insurgency.” The Jamestown Foundation, 11 March 2010. Web. 16 Aug. 2018.
[20] Fuller, Liz. “Avar Theologian Named To Succeed Umarov As Insurgency Leader.” Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, 19 March 2014. Web. 11 April 2014; Jocelyn, Thomas and Bill Roggio. “Russian troops kill leader of Islamic Caucasus Emirate.” The Long War Journal, 19 April 2015. Web. 16 Aug. 2018.
[21] “Riyadus-Salikhin (Gardens of the Righteous).” Agentura.Ru Studies and Research Centre, 2011. Web. 10 July 2012; “State Department Terrorist Designations of Aslan Avgazarovich Byutukaev and Ayrat Nasimovich Vakhitov.” U.S. Department of State, 13 July 2016. Web. 13 Aug. 2018.
[22] Roggio, Bill. “Internal Divisions Dissolved, Claims Caucasus Emirate.” The Long War Journal, 25 July 2011. Web. 15 July 2012.
[23] Saradzhyan, Simon. “Russia's North Caucasus, The Terrorism Revival.” Belfer Center, 23 Dec. 2010. Web. 25 July 2012.
[24] Fuller, Liz. “Kabardino-Balkaria Insurgency Commander Killed.” Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, 29 March 2012. Web. 11 April 2014; Vatchagev, Mairbek. “Death of Anzor Astemirov Does Not Mark the End of the Insurgency in Kabardino-Balkaria.” The Jamestown Foundation, 14 Sept. 2010. Web. 16 Aug. 2018.
[25] Hahn, Gordon M. “The Petersburg Jihadi Attack in Context: Recent Developments in Jihadism in Russia, 2014 – 2017.” Gordon M Hahn, n.d. Web. 16 Aug. 2018.
[26] “Russia.” The World Almanac of Islamism, 14 July 2011. Web. 20 March 2012.
[27] “Doku Khamatovich Umarov | Narrative Summaries of Reasons for Listing.” UN Security Council, 10 March 2011. Web. 13 Aug. 2018.
[28] Ter, Marta. “The Caucasus Emirate, the Other Russian Front.” Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, Nov. 2015. Web. 07 Aug. 2018.
[29] Hahn, Gordon M. “The Petersburg Jihadi Attack in Context: Recent Developments in Jihadism in Russia, 2014 – 2017.” Gordon M Hahn, n.d. Web. 16 Aug. 2018.
[30] “Emarat Kavkaz | Narrative Summaries of Reasons for Listing.” UN Security Council, 29 July 2011. Web. 13 Aug. 2018.
[31] “Emarat Kavkaz | Narrative Summaries of Reasons for Listing.” UN Security Council, 29 July 2011. Web. 13 Aug. 2018.
[32] Hahn, Gordon M. “Islam, Islamism, and Politics in Eurasia Report.” Monterey Institute of International Studies, 30 Nov. 2009. Web. 21 Jan. 2012; Hahn, Gordon M. “The Petersburg Jihadi Attack in Context: Recent Developments in Jihadism in Russia, 2014 – 2017.” Gordon M Hahn, n.d. Web. 16 Aug. 2018.
[33] Moore, Cerwyn, and Mark Youngman. “Guide: The Caucasus Emirate.” Radicalisation Research, 09 Nov. 2017. Web. 16 Aug. 2018.
[34] Stewart, Scott, and Ben West. “The Caucasus Emirate.” Stratfor, 15 Apr. 2010. Web. 20 Jan. 2012.
[35] Hahn, Gordon M. “Islam, Islamism, and Politics in Eurasia Report.” Monterey Institute of International Studies, 09 March 2009. Web. 30 Jan. 2012.
[36] Moore, Cerwyn, and Mark Youngman. “Guide: The Caucasus Emirate.” Radicalisation Research, 09 Nov. 2017. Web. 16 Aug. 2018.
[37] Nichol, Jim. “Stability in Russia’s Chechnya and Other Regions of the North Caucasus: Recent Developments.” Federation of American Scientists, 13 Dec. 2010. Web. 12 March 2012.
[38] Cockburn, Patrick. “Chechen who killed Britons is murdered.” The Independent, 26 June 2001. Web. 06 Aug. 2018; “Emarat Kavkaz | Narrative Summaries of Reasons for Listing.” UN Security Council, 29 July 2011. Web. 13 Aug. 2018.
[39] Hahn, Gordon M. “Islam, Islamism, and Politics in Eurasia Report.” Monterey Institute of International Studies, 30 Nov. 2009. Web. 20 Jan. 2012.
[40] Hahn, Gordon M. “Islam, Islamism, and Politics in Eurasia Report.” Monterey Institute of International Studies, 30 Nov. 2009. Web. 20 Jan. 2012; “Surge in North Caucasus Violence Reflects Diversification of Resistance Tactics.” Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty, 18 Aug. 2009. Web. 13 Aug. 2018; Pan, Philip P. “Bomb Wounds Yevkurov, President of Russia’s Ingushetia Region.” Washington Post Foreign Service, 23 June 2009. Web. 10 Aug. 2018.
[41] “North Caucasus: Guide to a Volatile Region.” BBC News, 25 Jan. 2011. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.
[42] “Female Suicide Bombers Blamed in Moscow Subway Attacks.” CNN, 29 March 2010. Web. 15 July 2012.
[43] Roggio, Bill. “Police Defeat Caucasus Emirate assault on Chechen president’s hometown.” The Long War Journal, 29 Aug. 2010. Web. 13 Aug. 2018.
[44] Kuchins, Andrew C., Matthew Malarkey, and Sergei Markedonov. “The North Caucasus: Russia's Volatile Frontier.” Center for Strategic and International Studies, March 2011. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.
[45] “Riyadus-Salikhin Reconnaissance and Sabotage Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion of Chechen Martyrs (RSRSBCM) | Narrative Summaries of Reasons for Listing.” UN Security Council, 07 Sept. 2010. Web. 05 Aug. 2018.
[46] “Consecutive Volgograd Suicide Bombing Kills at Least 15.” RT.com, 31 Dec. 2013. Web. 11 April 2014.
[47] Anishchuk, Alexei. “Four Russian Servicemen Killed in North Caucasus Bomb Attack.” Reuters UK, 3 April 2014. Web. 11 April 2014.
[48] “Emarat Kavkaz.” UN Security Council, 29 July 2011. Web. 15 Aug. 2018.
[49] “Designation of Caucasus Emirate.” Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism, 26 May 2011. Web. 16 Aug. 2018.
[50] “Emarat Kavkaz.” UN Security Council, 29 July 2011. Web. 15 Aug. 2018.
[51] “Proscribed Terrorist Organisations.” UK Home Office, 22 Dec. 2017. Web. 26 June 2018.
[52] Government of Canada. “Currently listed entities.” Public Safety Canada, 15 Feb. 2018. Web. 26 June 2018.
[53] “UAE Cabinet approves list of designated terrorist organisations, groups.” Emirates News Agency, 15 Nov. 2014. Web. 08 July 2018.
[54] Hahn, Gordon M. “Islam, Islamism, and Politics in Eurasia Report.” Monterey Institute of International Studies, 10 May 2010. Web. 20 Jan. 2012.
[55] Ter, Marta. “The Caucasus Emirate, the Other Russian Front.” Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, Nov. 2015. Web. 07 Aug. 2018.
[56] “Emarat Kavkaz | Narrative Summaries of Reasons for Listing.” UN Security Council, 29 July 2011. Web. 13 Aug. 2018
[57] “Emarat Kavkaz | Narrative Summaries of Reasons for Listing.” UN Security Council, 29 July 2011. Web. 13 Aug. 2018.
[58] Hahn, Gordon M. “Islam, Islamism, and Politics in Eurasia Report.” Monterey Institute of International Studies, 10 May 2010. Web. 20 Jan. 2012.
[59] Moore, Cerwyn, and Mark Youngman. “Guide: The Caucasus Emirate.” Radicalisation Research, 09 Nov. 2017. Web. 16 Aug. 2018.
[60] Hahn, Gordon M. “Islam, Islamism, and Politics in Eurasia Report.” Monterey Institute of International Studies, 08 Jan. 2009. Web. 25 Jan. 2012.