Alan Digorsky (russian: Алан Дигорский, Alan Digorskiy;

Iron Ossetian Iron (Ossetic: Ирон, ''Iron'' or Ирон ӕвзаг, ''Iron evzag'') is one of the two main dialects of the Ossetic language along with DigorThordarson, Fridrik. 1989. Ossetic. Compendium Linguarum Iranicarum, ed. by Rudiger Schmitt, 456-7 ...

: Дыгурты Алан, ''Dygurty Alan'';

Digor Ossetian Digor or Digorian (''дигорон digoron'') is a dialect of the Ossetian language spoken by the Digor people. It is less widely spoken than Iron, the other extant Ossetian dialect. The two are distinct enough to sometimes be considered separ ...

: Дигорти Алан, ''Digorti Alan''), better known as

Emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...

Saad (russian: Эмир Саад, Emir Saad,

: Амыр Сад, ''Amyr Sad'';

: Амир Сад, ''Amir Sad''), is an Islamist

militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...

and the first leader of the Ossetian Jamaat

Kataib al-Khoul Kataib al-Khoul, also known as the Ossetian Jamaat and Vilayat Iriston (russian: Вилайят Иристон, Vilayyat Iriston; os, Вилайят Ирыстон, Vilajyat Iryston), was a militant Islamist organization connected to numerous att ...

which later became part of the Caucasus Front's

North Ossetia North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

n Sector in Russia's republic of

North Ossetia–Alania The Republic of North Ossetia–Alania; os, Республикӕ Цӕгат Ирыстон — Алани, ''Respublikæ Cægat Iryston — Alani'', ) is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. Its population acco ...

during the

Second Chechen War The Second Chechen War (russian: Втора́я чече́нская война́, ) took place in Chechnya and the border regions of the North Caucasus between the Russia, Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, from Augus ...

. Not much is publicly known about Digorsky. His name, if genuine, would indicate that he was an ethnic Ossetian. When Kataib al-Khoul's existence was mentioned for the first time he was notified as its leader. Since the creation of the

Caucasus Emirate The Caucasus Emirate ( ce, Имарат Кавказ, Imarat Kavkaz, IK; russian: Кавказский эмират, Kavkazskiy emirat), also known as the Caucasian Emirate, Emirate of Caucasus, or Islamic Emirate of the Caucasus, was a Jihadist ...

in 2007, his forces strived to end Russian control of North Ossetia and establish an

Islamic state An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

based on

Sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...

law. Although Ossetian Muslims are a

minority group The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...

in the republic, Digorsky had been relatively active in his guerrilla campaign, claiming credit for the killings of several high-ranking officials and other attacks. Since the abolishment of Vilayat Iriston in May 2009, Digorsky's whereabouts remain unknown.

Mil Mi-8 transport helicopter crash

On 11 September

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, on the outskirts of

Vladikavkaz Vladikavkaz (russian: Владикавка́з, , os, Дзæуджыхъæу, translit=Dzæwdžyqæw, ;), formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () and Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of the North Ossetia-Alania, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Ru ...

, a

Mil Mi-8 The Mil Mi-8 (russian: Ми-8, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s and introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1968. It is now produced by Russia. In addition t ...

transport helicopter crashed, killing high ranks of

58th Combined Arms Army The 58th Combined Arms Army (russian: 58-я общевойсковая армия) is an army of the Russian Ground Forces, headquartered at Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia-Alania, within Russia's Southern Military District. It was formed in 1941 as pa ...

, including 3

Generals A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED On ...

, 6

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

s, 2

Lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

s and one

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. In total, 12 russian soldiers were killed. Militants claim Emir Saad himself shot down the helicopter with a

Man-portable air-defense system Man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS or MPADS) are portable surface-to-air missiles. They are guided weapons and are a threat to low-flying aircraft, especially helicopters. Overview MANPADS were developed in the 1950s to provide military ...

References

External links

The Truth about the “Kataib al-Khoul” Ossetian JamaatAUTHORITIES REFUSE TO RECOGNIZE INSURGENCY IN NORTH OSSETIAKata'ib al-Khoul Aliases: Jamaat Kataib al-Khoul, Kataeb al-Ghoul, Kataib al-Khoul, Kataib al-Khoul Jamaat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saad, Emir Caucasian Front (militant group) Ossetian people People of the Chechen wars Russian Islamists Russian rebels 2009 deaths