The Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (russian: Исламский полк особого назначения;

abbreviated An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...

SPIR), also known as the al-Jihad-Fi-Sabililah Special Islamic Regiment, was a Chechen organization loosely formed by Chechen warlord

Arbi Barayev Arbi Alautdinovich Barayev ( ce, Арби Алаутдинович Бараев; 27 May 1974 – 22 June 2001) was a Chechen warlord and terrorist, who in 1996 became the founder and first leader of the Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (SPI ...

in 1996. It was regarded as one of the main hostage-taking, kidnapping, and oil-smuggling groups operating in

Chechnya Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...

during the lawless interwar period that followed the

First Chechen War The First Chechen War, also known as the First Chechen Campaign,, rmed conflict in the Chechen Republic and on bordering territories of the Russian FederationФедеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 1995 (в реда� ...

(1994–1996) with Russia. It is most notorious for its role in the October 2002

Moscow theater hostage crisis The Moscow theater hostage crisis (also known as the 2002 Nord-Ost siege) was the seizure of the crowded Dubrovka Theater by Chechen terrorists on 23 October 2002, which involved 850 hostages and ended with Russian security services killing o ...

, when the group took some 800 hostages in the Russian capital; by then, SPIR was headed by

Movsar Barayev Movsar Buharovich Barayev (Suleimanov) (russian: Мовсар Бухарович Бараев; October 26, 1979 – October 26, 2002), earlier known as Suleimanov, was a Chechen Islamist militia leader during the Second Chechen War, who le ...

—the nephew of Arbi (killed in 2001)—and probably never had more than 100 fighters at any given time. It might have received some external assistance from foreign fighters. During the Moscow theatre hostage crisis, Movsar Barayev and some 40 men and women led by him (dubbed the 29th Suicide Division) that also included members of two other Chechen rebel groups, brought together by

Shamil Basayev Shamil Salmanovich Basayev ( ce, Салман ВоӀ Шамиль ; russian: Шамиль Салманович Басаев; 14 January 1965 – 10 July 2006), also known by his kunya "Abu Idris", was a senior military commander in the Cheche ...

, were killed in a raid by Russian special forces units Alfa and

Vympel Directorate "V" of the FSB Special Purpose Center, often referred to as Spetsgruppa "V" Vympel ( pennant in Russian, originated from German , and having the same meaning), but also known as KGB Directorate "V", Vega Group, is an elite Russian ...

after having been incapacitated by the chemical attack that also killed at least 129 of their hostages.The Chechen Suicide Squad
''

TIME Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'', Nov. 04, 2002 The SPIR fighters under Yunadi Turchayev, who became a deputy of

Dokka Umarov Doku Khamatovich Umarov ( ce, Ӏумар Хьамади кӀант Докка, translit='Umar Ẋamadi khant Dokka, ; russian: Доку Хаматович Умаров, Doku Khamatovich Umarov; 13 April 1964 – 7 September 2013), also known as ...

, also took part in the large-scale raid on central Grozny in 2004, in which more than 100 combatants and civilians were killed. In 2004, the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

included "The Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (a.k.a. the Islamic Special Purpose Regiment, a.k.a. the al-Jihad-Fisi-Sabililah Special Islamic Regiment, a.k.a. Islamic Regiment of Special Meaning)" on the

Terrorist Exclusion List Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) is a designation for non-United States-based organizations deemed by the United States Secretary of State, in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (INA), to be involved ...

under the

USA PATRIOT Act The USA PATRIOT Act (commonly known as the Patriot Act) was a landmark Act of Congress, Act of the United States Congress, signed into law by President of the United States, President George W. Bush. The formal name of the statute is the Uniti ...

. As of 2006 (when the SPIR has had at least seven commanders since it was founded), it reportedly continued to conduct limited guerrilla operations in Chechnya under the leadership of the man known only as

Amir 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 ...

Aslan, followed by Amirs Rashid and Abdul-Malik. On 4 June 2008, Alkavkaz website reported that Abdul-Malik and three of his comrades had been killed during a skirmish in a forest near

Grozny Grozny ( rus, Грозный, p=ˈgroznɨj; ce, Соьлжа-ГӀала, translit=Sölƶa-Ġala), also spelled Groznyy, is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2010 census, it had a pop ...

.ALKAVKAZ CHECHAN INFORMATION - ABDUL-MALİK ŞEHİT
(in Turkish)

References

{{reflist, 32em

External links

(GlobalSecurity.org) Guerrilla organizations Islamist groups Jihadist groups Organizations established in 1996 Paramilitary organizations based in Russia Crime in Chechnya Islamic terrorism in Russia Islamism in Chechnya Moscow theater hostage crisis