At least four persons regarded IS leaders in Northern Caucasus

Rustam Asilderov, Gasan Abdullaev, Aslan Byutukaev and Zalim Shebzukhov are, according to information published in 2015 with reference to Russian power agents, were treated as leaders of North-Caucasian militants who had sworn to the "Islamic State" (IS).

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that today Alexander Bortnikov, the head of the Russia’s Federal Security Bureau (FSB), said that out of 26 leaders of North-Caucasian militant leaders, who had sworn to the IS, 20 were killed in 2015.

Rustam Asilderov (Abu Mokhammad al-Kadari) was one of the first leaders, who took the oath to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the IS leader; the information about it appeared on December 19, 2014. Then, the leader of "Imarat Kavkaz" Aliaskhab Kebekov (killed in April 2015) accused the leader of Dagestani militants of a split, dismissed him and appointed Saeed of Arakan to be the Amir. In June 2015, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, the IS press secretary, said that Abu Mohammed al-Kadari (Rustam Asilderov) was appointed leader of the IS department in Northern Caucasus.

On October 22, 2015 it became known that the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) had launched an investigation of the criminal case against the alleged organizers and members of the community "Vilayat Dagestan of the Islamic State" – a subsidiary of the “Imarat Kavkaz”. According to investigators, the community was founded by Rustam Aselderov (his surname in media is also written as Aseldirov or Asilderov), also known under the conspiratorial name Abu Mukhammad, and by Gasan Abdullaev (Abu Yaser).

Power agents also believe that Aslan Byutukaev, the commander of the battalion of suicide bombers "Riyad as-Salikhiyn", is still alive after swearing to the IS leader on behalf of all Chechen militants.

Zalim Shebzukhov, the leader of the armed underground of Kabardino-Balkaria, was declared by the National Antiterrorist Committee (NAC) killed in a special operation on April 16, 2015. Then, power agents reported that Shebzukhov "had been preparing terror acts for the May Day holidays" and "recruiting fighters for the warfare in Syria." Subsequently, the NAC specified that not Shebzukhov was killed, but a certain Zaur Prokopchuk.

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