Rappani Khalilov
Encyclopedia
Rappani Khalilov (1969 – September 17, 2007), also known as Rabbani, was the militant leader of the Shariat Jamaat
of the Caucasian Front
during the Second Chechen War
, in the volatile southern Russia
n republic of Dagestan
. He was killed on September 17, 2007 in a fierce shoot-out with the Russian special forces
.
. In 1944 his ancestors were forcibly resettled from the mountains to the territory of a gorge in Aukhovsky (Novalaksky) District in the then-Chechen-Ingush ASSR
, which was vacated following the deportation of the Chechens
to Siberia
and subsequently became part of the Dagestan ASSR
. Khalilov himself, however, was born and grew up in the city of Buynaksk
in Dagestan. Khalilov's first name, Rabbani, means "pertaining to God" in Arabic
and is rendered Rappani in local dialect.
Khalilov was unknown to Dagestani security forces prior to 1998. In the Soviet
times he had served as a border guard
along the border with Mongolia
; after that, he wae was a co-owner of a family bakery
. Khalilov came to the attention of the authorities in 1998 when he married the sister of the foreign mujahideen
commander Ibn al-Khattab
's ethnic Dargin
wife; he moved to her home village of Karamakhi
, which acquired notoriety in the summer of the same year, when its residents introduced Sharia
law and declared an Islamic state
. Khalilov grew close to local Islamist ideologists and is thought to have met Khattab and Shamil Basayev
at a militant training camp in Serzhen-Yurt, south-eastern Chechnya
. In 1999 he was involved in the Dagestan War
in which Khattab and Basayev sought to create an Islamic superstate
out of Chechnya and Dagestan. After that raid was suppressed, he created his own unit of mostly Dagestani rebels.
. He was soon blamed by the FSB to have ordered the bombing of a parade
near the military barracks in the city of Kaspiysk
during a Russian Victory Day celebrations on May 9, 2002, but Khalilov and Shariat Jamaat always denied responsibility for this attack saying they don't target civilians (the blast killed at least 19 soldiers and 15 civilians, including 12 children).
Khalilov was thought to operate in south-eastern Chechnya and the mountainous regions of western Dagestan. According to one expert cited by Radio Free Europe
, "Khalilov's name and reputation was indeed comparable to that of Basayev." According to the Russian newspaper Kommersant
, Khalilov was "highly popular with the local youth, whom he is actively drawing into his ranks." He has refrained from attacking civilians and instead targeted strictly police and military targets, as well as government officials and politicians across the poverty-stricken republic of Dagestan.
After former Chechen President Sheikh Abdul-Halim opened up the Caucasian Front
to spread the insurgency
across the entire North Caucasus
region of Russia, it is thought that Khalilov came under the authority of the Chechen rebels. This was confirmed when in a September 2006 decree, Doku Umarov
, the successor to Abdul-Halim Sadulayev named Khalilov as a Brigadier General
and made him as the commander of the Dagestan front.
launched an operation in the Dagestani settlement of Novy Sulak. Two gunmen were blocked in a private residence by several hundred heavily-armed republican and federal MVD
troops; after the fighters refused to surrender, a 12-hour gun battle ensued during which the MVD troops were reinforced by the FSB Vympel
special forces unit. According to the official information, only two troops were wounded in the firefight, but according to IWPR
one was killed and ten were wounded. RPO-A flamethrowers were used by the commandos to destroy the house, but the shooting only ceased at dawn of the next day, when the residence was crushed to the ground by an army tank
and seven armoured personnel carrier
s.
After examining the rubble, two bodies were recovered, identified as belonging to Rappani Khalilov and his deputy and right-hand man Nabi Nabiyev (also known as Abdurakhman); Khalilov's death was later confirmed by the rebel sources. Russian authorities announced they would not release the corpses for burial; Doku Umarov
honored his fallen subordinate by granting Khalilov the posthumous rank of general and the "Honor of the Nation" award, the highest decoration bestowed within the separatist movement. Khalilov's deputy Abdul Madzhid became his official successor.
Shariat Jamaat
Jamaat Shariat, officially the Islamic Jamaat of Dagestan "Shariat" and also known as Shari’ah Jamaat, is the largest Islamist militant organization in the Russian republic of Dagestan, North Caucasus...
of the Caucasian Front
Caucasian Front (Chechen War)
The Caucasian Front also called Caucasus Front or the Caucasian Mujahadeen, was formally established in May 2005 as an Islamic structural unit of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria's armed forces by the decree of the separatist President of Chechnya Abdul-Halim Sadulayev during the Second Chechen...
during the Second Chechen War
Second Chechen War
The Second Chechen War, in a later phase better known as the War in the North Caucasus, was launched by the Russian Federation starting 26 August 1999, in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade ....
, in the volatile southern Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n republic of Dagestan
Dagestan
The Republic of Dagestan is a federal subject of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and the largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea...
. He was killed on September 17, 2007 in a fierce shoot-out with the Russian special forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
.
Early life and militant activity
Khalilov was an ethnic Lak, the sixth largest ethnic group in DagestanDagestan
The Republic of Dagestan is a federal subject of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and the largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea...
. In 1944 his ancestors were forcibly resettled from the mountains to the territory of a gorge in Aukhovsky (Novalaksky) District in the then-Chechen-Ingush ASSR
Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
The Chechen–Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, or Chechen–Ingush ASSR ;) was an autonomous republic within the Russian SFSR...
, which was vacated following the deportation of the Chechens
Operation Lentil
Operation Lentil may refer to:* Operation Lentil , deportation of populations by Soviet Union* Operation Lentil , British naval air attack on Japanese installations...
to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
and subsequently became part of the Dagestan ASSR
Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
The Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was an autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in the former Soviet Union. This "Land of Mountains" was known also for having a "mountain of peoples," with more than 30 nationalities or ethnic groups indigenous to the territory...
. Khalilov himself, however, was born and grew up in the city of Buynaksk
Buynaksk
Buynaksk is a town in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, located at the foothills of the Greater Caucasus on the Shura-Ozen River, southwest of the republic's capital Makhachkala. Population: 40,000 ....
in Dagestan. Khalilov's first name, Rabbani, means "pertaining to God" in Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
and is rendered Rappani in local dialect.
Khalilov was unknown to Dagestani security forces prior to 1998. In the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
times he had served as a border guard
Border guard
The border guard, frontier guard, border patrol, border police, or frontier police of a country is a national security agency that performs border control, i.e., enforces the security of the country's national borders....
along the border with Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
; after that, he wae was a co-owner of a family bakery
Bakery
A bakery is an establishment which produces and sells flour-based food baked in an oven such as bread, cakes, pastries and pies. Some retail bakeries are also cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who wish to consume the baked goods on the premises.-See also:*Baker*Cake...
. Khalilov came to the attention of the authorities in 1998 when he married the sister of the foreign mujahideen
Mujahideen
Mujahideen are Muslims who struggle in the path of God. The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad .Mujahideen is also transliterated from Arabic as mujahedin, mujahedeen, mudžahedin, mudžahidin, mujahidīn, mujaheddīn and more.-Origin of the concept:The beginnings of Jihad are traced...
commander Ibn al-Khattab
Ibn al-Khattab
Samir Saleh Abdullah Al-Suwailem , more commonly known as Emir Khattab meaning Commander Khattab, or Leader Khattab, and also known as Habib Abdul Rahman, was a Muslim guerilla fighter and financier working with Chechen Mujahideen in the First Chechen War...
's ethnic Dargin
Dargin people
The Dargwa or Dargin people are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group of the Caucasus who live mainly in the Russian republic of Dagestan. They speak the Dargwa language...
wife; he moved to her home village of Karamakhi
Karamakhi
Karamakhi is a rural locality in Buynaksky District of the Republic of Dagestan, Russia.-Overview:In 1997-1999, Karamakhi became a hotbed of radical islamism...
, which acquired notoriety in the summer of the same year, when its residents introduced Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
law and declared an Islamic state
Islamic State
An Islamic state is a type of government, in which the primary basis for government is Islamic religious law...
. Khalilov grew close to local Islamist ideologists and is thought to have met Khattab and Shamil Basayev
Shamil Basayev
Shamil Salmanovich Basayev was a Chechen militant Islamist and a leader of the Chechen rebel movement.Starting as a field commander in the Transcaucasus, Basayev led guerrilla campaigns against the Russian troops for years, as well as launching mass-hostage takings of civilians, with his goal...
at a militant training camp in Serzhen-Yurt, south-eastern Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
. In 1999 he was involved in the Dagestan War
Dagestan War
The invasion of Dagestan, also known as the War in Dagestan and Dagestan War, began on August 7, 1999, when the Chechnya-based Islamic International Brigade , an Islamist militia led by warlords Shamil Basayev and Ibn al-Khattab, invaded the neighbouring Russian republic of Dagestan in support of...
in which Khattab and Basayev sought to create an Islamic superstate
Pan-Islamism
Pan-Islamism is a political movement advocating the unity of Muslims under one Islamic state — often a Caliphate. As a form of religious nationalism, Pan-Islamism differentiates itself from other pan-nationalistic ideologies, for example Pan-Arabism, by excluding culture and ethnicity as primary...
out of Chechnya and Dagestan. After that raid was suppressed, he created his own unit of mostly Dagestani rebels.
Leader of Dagestani insurgency
Khalilov first became well known after the January 18, 2002, bombing of a Russian military truck, which killed seven Interior Ministry soldiers in the capital of Dagestan, MakhachkalaMakhachkala
-Twin towns/sister cities:Makhachkala is twinned with: Sfax, Tunisia Siping, China Spokane, United States Vladikavkaz, Russia Yalova, Turkey Ndola, Zambia-See also:*...
. He was soon blamed by the FSB to have ordered the bombing of a parade
2002 Kaspiysk bombing
2002 Kaspiysk bombing was a May 9, 2002, attack which ripped through the military parade to commemorate the 57th anniversary of Soviet victory in the World War II on Lenin Street in the city of Kaspiysk, Dagestan...
near the military barracks in the city of Kaspiysk
Kaspiysk
Kaspiysk , until 1947 known as Dvigatelstroy , is a city in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, located on the Caspian Sea, southeast of Makhachkala. Population: 43,000 ....
during a Russian Victory Day celebrations on May 9, 2002, but Khalilov and Shariat Jamaat always denied responsibility for this attack saying they don't target civilians (the blast killed at least 19 soldiers and 15 civilians, including 12 children).
Khalilov was thought to operate in south-eastern Chechnya and the mountainous regions of western Dagestan. According to one expert cited by Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a broadcaster funded by the U.S. Congress that provides news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East "where the free flow of information is either banned by government authorities or not fully developed"...
, "Khalilov's name and reputation was indeed comparable to that of Basayev." According to the Russian newspaper Kommersant
Kommersant
Kommersant is a commerce-oriented newspaper published in Russia. , the circulation was 131,000.- History :The newspaper was initially published in 1909, and it was closed down following the Bolshevik seizure of power and the introduction of censorship in 1917.In 1989, with the onset of press...
, Khalilov was "highly popular with the local youth, whom he is actively drawing into his ranks." He has refrained from attacking civilians and instead targeted strictly police and military targets, as well as government officials and politicians across the poverty-stricken republic of Dagestan.
After former Chechen President Sheikh Abdul-Halim opened up the Caucasian Front
Caucasian Front (Chechen War)
The Caucasian Front also called Caucasus Front or the Caucasian Mujahadeen, was formally established in May 2005 as an Islamic structural unit of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria's armed forces by the decree of the separatist President of Chechnya Abdul-Halim Sadulayev during the Second Chechen...
to spread the insurgency
Insurgency
An insurgency is an armed rebellion against a constituted authority when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents...
across the entire North Caucasus
North Caucasus
The North Caucasus is the northern part of the Caucasus region between the Black and Caspian Seas and within European Russia. The term is also used as a synonym for the North Caucasus economic region of Russia....
region of Russia, it is thought that Khalilov came under the authority of the Chechen rebels. This was confirmed when in a September 2006 decree, Doku Umarov
Doku Umarov
Doku Khamatovich Umarov is a major Chechen Islamist rebel militant in Russia. He is responsible for numerous terror attacks on civilians, earning himself the nickname "Russia's Osama Bin Laden"....
, the successor to Abdul-Halim Sadulayev named Khalilov as a Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
and made him as the commander of the Dagestan front.
Death and legacy
On September 17, 2007, Russian special forcesSpetsnaz
Spetsnaz, Specnaz tr: Voyska specialnogo naznacheniya; ) is an umbrella term for any special forces in Russian, literally "force of special purpose"...
launched an operation in the Dagestani settlement of Novy Sulak. Two gunmen were blocked in a private residence by several hundred heavily-armed republican and federal MVD
Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs
The Ministerstvo Vnutrennikh Del is the interior ministry of Russia. Its predecessor was founded in 1802 by Alexander I in Imperial Russia...
troops; after the fighters refused to surrender, a 12-hour gun battle ensued during which the MVD troops were reinforced by the FSB Vympel
Vympel
Vympel , also known as KGB Directorate "B" ,Vega Group or Spetsgruppa V, Group B is a Russian special forces unit....
special forces unit. According to the official information, only two troops were wounded in the firefight, but according to IWPR
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
Institute for War & Peace Reporting is an international media development charity, established in 1991. It runs major programmes in Afghanistan, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Iran, Iraq, the Balkans, Congo DRC, Tunisia and Uganda...
one was killed and ten were wounded. RPO-A flamethrowers were used by the commandos to destroy the house, but the shooting only ceased at dawn of the next day, when the residence was crushed to the ground by an army tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
and seven armoured personnel carrier
Armoured personnel carrier
An armoured personnel carrier is an armoured fighting vehicle designed to transport infantry to the battlefield.APCs are usually armed with only a machine gun although variants carry recoilless rifles, anti-tank guided missiles , or mortars...
s.
After examining the rubble, two bodies were recovered, identified as belonging to Rappani Khalilov and his deputy and right-hand man Nabi Nabiyev (also known as Abdurakhman); Khalilov's death was later confirmed by the rebel sources. Russian authorities announced they would not release the corpses for burial; Doku Umarov
Doku Umarov
Doku Khamatovich Umarov is a major Chechen Islamist rebel militant in Russia. He is responsible for numerous terror attacks on civilians, earning himself the nickname "Russia's Osama Bin Laden"....
honored his fallen subordinate by granting Khalilov the posthumous rank of general and the "Honor of the Nation" award, the highest decoration bestowed within the separatist movement. Khalilov's deputy Abdul Madzhid became his official successor.