Rustam Asildarov

Rustam Asildarov (Aselderov) (9 March 1981 – 3 December 2016), also known as Emir Abu Muhammad Kadarsky,[2] was the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) North Caucasus branch, and a former leader of the militant Caucasus Emirate's Vilayat Dagestan wing.

Rustam Asildarov
Рустам Магомедович Асельдеров
Wali of Wilayah al-Qawkaz
In office
23 June 2015 – 3 December 2016
Preceded byPosition created
Emir of the Dagestani Front
In office
8 August 2012 – January 2015
Preceded byIbragimkhalil Daudov
Succeeded bySaid Kharakansky
Personal details
Born(1981-03-09)9 March 1981
Kalmyk ASSR, RSFSR, USSR
Died3 December 2016(2016-12-03) (aged 35)
near Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russia
NationalityDargin
Military service
Nickname(s)Emir Abu Muhammad
AllegianceCaucasus Emirate (former)[1]
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
CommandsDagestan Front (former)
Caucasus Province
Battles/warsInsurgency in the North Caucasus

Biography

Asildarov grew up in the Kadar region of the Buynaksky District in Russia's republic of Dagestan. During the late 1990s, the area became a regional center of Salafism and had de facto independence, before military operations in September 1999 brought it back under the control of the Russian state.[3]

Asildarov became the leader of Vilayat Dagestan's Central Sector in May 2010,[4] and on 8 August 2012, Caucasus Emirate's leader, Dokka Umarov, appointed Asildarov as the overall leader of Vilayat Dagestan, following the death of Ibragimkhalil Daudov.[5]

In December 2014, a video clip of Asildarov was posted online, in which he retracted his oath of allegiance to Umarov's successor, Aliaskhab Kebekov, and pledged loyalty to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Kebekov responded days later with a video, in which he condemned Asildarov's "betrayal" and appointed Said Kharakansky as the new leader of Vilayat Dagestan.[1][6]

In an audio statement on 23 June 2015, ISIL's spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani accepted pledges of allegiance to the group made by North Caucasus militants, and announced the creation of a new Wilayat or Province covering the region. Adnani declared the leader of this new branch to be Abu Muhammad al-Qadari, a pseudonym of Asildarov.[7][8]

On 29 September 2015, the United States Department of State added Asildarov to its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists.[9]

On 3 December 2016, the FSB announced that Asildarov and four close associates had been killed in an anti-terror raid near Makhachkala, Dagestan.

References
  1. Liz Fuller (2015-01-02). "Six North Caucasus Insurgency Commanders Transfer Allegiance To Islamic State". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 2015-01-28.
  2. "Dagestani Militants Experience Series of Setbacks". The Jamestown Foundation. 2014-12-31. Retrieved 2015-05-01.
  3. Jamestown Foundation (14 September 2012). "Dagestan Remains the Deadliest Republic of the North Caucasus".
  4. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (26 August 2012). "Umarov Names New Commander Of Insurgency In Daghestan".
  5. Амир ИК Докку Абу Усман назначил Абу Мухаммада амиром Дагестана. vDagestan (in Russian). 25 August 2012. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013.
  6. "Dagestani jihadist swears allegiance to Islamic State, invoking backlash". Long War Journal. 2014-12-31. Retrieved 2015-01-28.
  7. "ISIS Declares Governorate in Russia's North Caucasus Region". Institute for the Study of War. 23 June 2015. ISIS's spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani declared the creation of a new wilayat, or governorate, in the North Caucasus region of Russia on June 23, 2015. Al-Adnani named "Abu Mohammad al-Qadari" the leader of the group, and congratulated "the soldiers of the Islamic State" in the Caucasus.
  8. "Two North Caucasus Rebel Leaders Face Off in Islamic State–Caucasus Emirate Dispute". The Jamestown Foundation. 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2015-06-28. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has supposedly appointed Abu Muhammad Kadarsky (Rustam Asildarov) as the amir of the newly-established Velayat Kavkaz.
  9. "Designations of Foreign Terrorist Fighters". State.gov. 2015-09-29. Retrieved 2014-09-29.
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