New leader of "Imarat Kavkaz" not to be loyal to IS

The murder of Aliaskhab Kebekov left the terrorist organization "Imarat Kavkaz" without the actual leader; however, that fact is unlikely to lead to the dominance of the "Islamic State" (IS), despite the split among North-Caucasus militants. This opinion was expressed by analysts. According to them, one of the leaders of the Chechen and Dagestani armed undergrounds may become the leader of the "Imarat Kavkaz" instead of Aliaskhab Kebekov.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on April 19-20, five persons were killed during the special operation carried out on the outskirts of the Dagestani city of Buynaksk. According to the National Antiterrorist Committee (NAC), the number of the killed militants included Aliaskhab Kebekov, the leader of organization "Imarat Kavkaz" recognized in Russia as terrorist. The militants from Dagestan confirmed the information on their websites.

According to Orkhan Djemal, a "Forbes" journalist, two persons are able to replace Aliaskhab Kebekov as a militant leader in the Caucasus. They are Aslambek Vadalov, a field commander of Chechen militants, whom Aliaskhab Kebekov gave way for the position of "amir" after the death of Dokku Umarov, and Magomed Suleimanov (Abu Usman Gimry), a 'Sharia classmate' of Aliaskhab Kebekov, the leader of the armed underground in Dagestan.

The death of Aliaskhab Kebekov will bring dissonance in the ranks of the militants, since the Dagestani part of the armed underground split off from the "Imarat Kavkaz" will not participate in the election of a new leader. However, the experts cannot say definitely whether that will lead to the fact that most militants will find themselves under the influence of the IS.

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