Islamic State – Caucasus Province
The Islamic State – Caucasus Province (IS-CP; ar, الدولة الإسلامية - ولاية القوقاز, ''ad-Dawlah al-Islāmiyah – Wilayah al-Qawqaz'', russian: Вилаят Кавказ Исламского государства, ''Vilayat Kavkaz Islamskogo gosudarstva'') was a branch of the militant Islamist group Islamic State (IS), that was active in the North Caucasus region of Russia. IS announced the group's formation on 23 June 2015 and appointed Rustam Asildarov as its leader. Although it was defeated by 2017, some lone wolves acted on behalf of the Caucasus Province for several years afterwards. Background Starting in November 2014, mid-level commanders of the Caucasus Emirate militant group began publicly switching their allegiance from Emirate leader Aliaskhab Kebekov to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, following al-Baghdadi and his group's declaration of a caliphate earlier in the year. By February 2015, many commanders of the Emirate's branches in Chech ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Insurgency In The North Caucasus
The insurgency in the North Caucasus (russian: Борьба с терроризмом на Северном Кавказе) was a low-level War, armed conflict between Russia and militants associated with the Caucasus Emirate and, from June 2015, Islamic State (IS) groups in the North Caucasus. It followed the official end of the decade-long Second Chechen War on 16 April 2009. It attracted people from the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and Central Asia, who then participated in the conflict, but volunteers from the North Caucasus were also fighting in Syria. The insurgency became relatively dormant in its later years. During its peak, the violence was mostly concentrated in the North Caucasus republics of Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia and Kabardino-Balkaria. Occasional incidents happened in surrounding regions, like North Ossetia–Alania, Karachay-Cherkessia, Stavropol Krai and Volgograd Oblast. The insurgency was officially declared over on 19 December 2017 after mor ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Caliphate
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the entire Muslim world ( ummah). Historically, the caliphates were polities based on Islam which developed into multi-ethnic trans-national empires. During the medieval period, three major caliphates succeeded each other: the Rashidun Caliphate (632–661), the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750), and the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258). In the fourth major caliphate, the Ottoman Caliphate, the rulers of the Ottoman Empire claimed caliphal authority from 1517. Throughout the history of Islam, a few other Muslim states, almost all hereditary monarchies such as the Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo) and Ayyubid Caliphate, have claimed to be caliphates. The first caliphate, the Rashidun Caliphate, was establi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tyumen
Tyumen ( ; rus, Тюмень, p=tʲʉˈmʲenʲ, a=Ru-Tyumen.ogg) is the administrative center and largest city of Tyumen Oblast, Russia. It is situated just east of the Ural Mountains, along the Tura River. Fueled by the Russian oil and gas industry, Tyumen has experienced rapid population growth in recent years, rising to a population of 847,488 at the 2021 Census. Tyumen is among the largest cities of the Ural region and the Ural Federal District. Tyumen is often regarded as the first Siberian city, from the western direction. Tyumen was the first Russian settlement in Siberia. Founded in 1586 to support Russia's eastward expansion, the city has remained one of the most important industrial and economic centers east of the Ural Mountains. Located at the junction of several important trade routes and with easy access to navigable waterways, Tyumen rapidly developed from a small military settlement to a large commercial and industrial city. The central part of Old Tyumen retains ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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National Guard Of Russia
The National Guard of the Russian Federation (russian: Федеральная служба войск национальной гвардии Российской Федерации , translit = Federal'naya sluzhba voysk natsional'noy gvardii Rossiyskoy Federatsii , translation = Federal Service of the Troops of the National Guard of the Russian Federation) or Rosgvardiya (russian: Росгвардия) is the internal military force of Russia, comprising an independent agency that reports directly to the President of Russia Vladimir Putin under his powers as Supreme Commander-in-Chief and Chairman of the Security Council. The National Guard is separate from the Russian Armed Forces. A law signed by Putin established the federal executive body in 2016. The National Guard has the stated mission of securing Russia's borders, taking charge of gun control, combating terrorism and organized crime, protecting public order and guarding important state facilities. The establish ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alpha Group
Spetsgruppa "A", also known as Alpha Group (a popular English name), or Alfa, whose official name is Directorate "A" of the FSB Special Purpose Center (TsSN FSB) (Russian: Спецназ ФСБ "Альфа"), is an elite stand-alone sub-unit of Russia's special forces within the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). It was created by the Soviet KGB in 1974. Although little is known about the exact nature of its primary directives, it is speculated that the unit is authorised to act under the direct control and sanction of Russia's top political leadership, similar to its sister unit, the Directorate "V" (Vympel), which is officially tasked with protecting Russia's strategic installations, as well as conducting black operations inside and outside Russia. It is also available for extended police duties, for paramilitary operations, and for covert operations, both domestically and internationally. In the Soviet Union Creation and organization On 28 July 1974, Alpha Group was ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Site Intel Group
SITE Intelligence Group is an American non-governmental organization that tracks online activity of white supremacist and jihadist organizations. It is based in Bethesda, Maryland. From 2002 to 2008, SITE Intelligence Group was known as the Search for International Terrorist Entities (SITE) Institute. SITE is led by the Israeli analyst Rita Katz. To view the bulk of the contents and reports of the SITE website a person, government, or company must subscribe to SITE Intelligence Group. On September 2, 2014, SITE sent the video of Steven Sotloff's apparent beheading to its subscribers before the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant released the video. On August 18, 2021, Katz commented that “The Taliban of today is immensely savvy with technology and social media" and, in regards to demands by U.S. conservatives wanting "to know why former president Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who se ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2018 Magnitogorsk Building Collapse
On 31 December 2018, at approximately 6:02 a.m. local time, an apartment block in Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, partially collapsed. The collapse killed 39 people and injured 17 more. The cause of the collapse is believed to have been a gas explosion. Background The 10-story high-rise apartment block, located at 164 Prospekt Karla Marksa, built in 1973, holds 623 units, being a type 1-439A building with 12 staircases. The collapse took place on the 7th staircase and destroyed or damaged 48 units which together housed 110 people, of whom 95 were believed to have been in the building at the time of the collapse. Cause The collapse is believed to have been caused by a gas explosion. Russian investigators said reports of explosive traces in the rubble were untrue. Based on "unnamed and unverified" sources, the Znak website wrote that the blast came from the second floor where a suspect was keeping explosives to use to attack local businesses. Response After t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kizlyar
Kizlyar (russian: Кизля́р; av, Гъизляр; kum, Къызлар, ''Qızlar'') is a town in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, located on the border with the Chechen Republic in the delta of the Terek River northwest of Makhachkala, the capital of the republic. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 48,984. Etymology According to some researchers, the name of the city comes from an old name for the Terek River. Another translation of the name Kizlyar is from an unspecified Turkic language, meaning "girls". According to Vyacheslav Nikonov, correct translation of this Turkic toponym is "red cliff". History The first documented reference to Kizlyar dates back to 1609, although some historians associate the place with Samandar, the 8th-century capital of Khazaria. In 1735 the Russian government built a fortress in Kizlyar and laid foundations for the Caucasus fortified borderline. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Kizlyar operated as one of the trading posts b ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Makhachkala
Makhachkala ( rus, Махачкала, , məxətɕkɐˈla, links=yes),; av, Махӏачхъала, Maħaçqala; ce, ХӀинжа-ГӀала, Hinƶa-Ġala; az, Маһачгала, Mahaçqala; nog, Махачкала; lbe, Махачкъала; rut, Магьачкъала, Mahaçqala. previously known as Petrovskoye (; 1844–1857) and Port-Petrovsk (; 1857–1921), or by the local Kumyk name of Anji, is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Dagestan in Russia. The city is located on the Caspian Sea, covering an area of , with a population of over 603,518 residents, while the urban agglomeration covers over , with a population of roughly 1 million residents. Makhachkala is the fourth-largest city in the Caucasus, the largest city in the North Caucasus and the North Caucasian Federal District, as well as the third-largest city on the Caspian Sea. The city is extremely ethnically diverse, with a minor ethnic Russian population. The city's historic predecessor is the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Abu Mohammad Al-Adnani
Taha Sobhi Falaha ( ar, طٰهٰ صُبْحِيِّ فَلَاحَةٍ, Ṭāhā Ṣobḥī Falāḥa; 1977 – 30 August 2016), known as Abu Muhammad al-Adnani al-Shami ( ar, أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ ٱلْعَدْنَانِيُّ ٱلشَّامِيُّ, ʾAbū Muḥammad al-ʿAdnānī aš-Šāmī), was the official spokesperson and a senior leader of the Islamic State. He was described as the chief of its external operations. He was the second most senior leader of the Islamic State after its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Media reports in August 2016 suggested he was in charge of a special unit, known as the ''Emni'', that was established by IS in 2014 with the double objective of internal policing and executing operations outside IS territory. On 5 May 2015, the U.S. State Department Rewards for Justice Program announced a reward up to US$5 million for information leading to his capture. On 30 August 2016, the Islamic State announced al-Adnani had been killed in Aleppo P ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Long War Journal
''FDD's Long War Journal'' (LWJ) is an American news website, also described as a blog, which reports on the War on terror. The site is operated by Public Multimedia Incorporated (PMI), a non-profit media organization established in 2007. PMI is run by Paul Hanusz and Bill Roggio. Roggio is the managing editor of the journal and Thomas Joscelyn is senior editor. The site is a project of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where both Roggio and Joscelyn are senior fellows. The journal evolved from Roggio's personal blog with which he reported on conflicts involving terrorism and Islamic insurgencies around the world. PMI states that its journal seeks to provide news on conflicts without promoting a political agenda and with a goal of providing in-depth, contextual, detailed reporting. The site's staff, led by Roggio, use international media sources plus contacts in the United States intelligence community for information for their reports. The organization is funded by p ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says that "the free flow of information is either banned by government authorities or not fully developed". RFE/RL is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation supervised by the U.S. Agency for Global Media, an independent government agency overseeing all U.S. federal government international broadcasting services. Daisy Sindelar is the vice president and editor-in-chief of RFE. RFE/RL broadcasts in 27 languages to 23 countries. The organization has been headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic, since 1995, and has 21 local bureaus with over 500 core staff and 1,300 stringers and freelancers in countries throughout their broadcast region. In addition, it has 700 employees at its headquarters and corporate office in Washington, D.C. Radio Free E ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |