Yarmuk Jamaat
Encyclopedia
Yarmuk Jamaat is a militant
Islamist
jamaat
organization connected to numerous attacks against the local and federal security forces in Russia
n republic of Kabardino-Balkaria
in the North Caucasus
. Yarmuk became part of the Caucasian Front
in 2005 and joined the Caucasus Emirate
in 2007.
The group drew most of its early members from the Balkars
, a small ethnic minority in the republic, however their long-time leader between 2005 and 2010, Anzor Astemirov
(Emir Sayfullah), was a Kabardin; there are also members from the other ethnic groups, including the Karachays
and ethnic Russians
. The group was named after the 7th Century Battle of Yarmuk
.
, the long-time ruler of the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria (KBR) who labeled all alternatives to the local branch of the Spiritual Board of Russia's Muslims, operating the only official mosque in the republic, as "Wahhabis" and indiscriminately and brutally harassed them.
Mounting pressure from the continued crackdown forced the group's leader, Mussa Mukozhoyev (Musa Mukozhev), to join the underground, while many local young radicals slipped away to join the Islamic Peacekeeping Army that invaded the republic of Dagestan
from Chechnya
in 1999 or to fight on the Chechen separatist
side in the Second Chechen War
. Yarmuk was originally founded as a unit of around 30 Balkars and Kabardinians, led by Muslim Atayev
(Emir Sayfullah), which trained at the Chechen warlord Ruslan Gelayev's camp in Pankisi Gorge
, Georgia
, and in 2002 helped Gelayev's forces in the raid of the village of Galashki
in the republic of Ingushetia
. Upon their return to Kabardino-Balkaria, Atayev and his men launched a recruitment drive among the alienated and radicalized youth.
Radical Chechen commander Shamil Basayev
maintained such close ties with the local "Wahhabis" that he even lived in the town of Baksan
for more than a month in 2003, before narrowly escaping a police raid. An Ingush
would-be suicide bomber Zarema Muzhakhoyeva
lived in the republic's capital Nalchik
too, before going on a failed suicide mission to Moscow
, and a Nalchik resident housed the alleged organizer of the August 2004 bombing
in the Moscow metro.
and referred to alleged government responsibility for the 1999 Russian apartment bombings
("We are not fighting against women or children, like Russian invaders are doing in Ichkeria
. We are not blowing up sleeping people, like FSB of the Russian Federation does"), focusing on the corruption of the "mafia clans" that lead the republic ("These mere apologies for rulers, who sold themselves to the invaders, have made drug addiction, prostitution, poverty, crime, depravity, drunkenness and unemployment prosper in our Republic").
Yarmuk launched its first attack in Kabardino-Balkaria that same month, ambushing policemen in Chegem
district. A turning point came in December 2004, when Yarmuk members conducted a raid
on office of the federal drug control agency in Nalchik, during which they seized large quantities of weapons and ammunition. The founding leader of Yarmuk, Muslim Atayev, was soon killed when the police stormed an apartment in Nalchik in January 2005, however his organization has continued to operate, periodically staging attacks under the leadership of his successor, Rustam Bekanov, until his was killed three months later and replaced by Anzor Astemirov, a former deputy director of the Islamic Center. The group's base of operations was Nalchik as well as Balkarian enclave around Mount Elbrus
(the highest peak in Europe).
. Its survivors retrenched following the Nalchik debacle, and in late 2007 were subsumed into a larger fighting unit that would operate not only in Kabardino-Balkaria but also in the neighboring republic of Karachay-Cherkessia
after the destruction of its native Karachay Jamaat. The number of attacks attributed to Yarmuk at that time has been relatively low, compromised mostly of targeted assassinations like this of Anatoly Kyarov
(one major exception was shooting of a group of nine Russian hunters in November 2007), however the militants systematically kept recruiting new fighters and gathering weapons.
festivities and a sabotage attack in the Baksan hydroelectric power station
that inflicted significant economic damage in July) and a large number of near-daily attacks directed against members of security forces. According the Russian fedeal Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev
in November 2010, "the highest level of the terrorist threat in the North Caucasus is in the republics of Dagestan and Kabardino-Balkaria", allegedly eclipsing even Chechnya and Ingushetia, as the KBR saw six time more gun attacks and nearly five times more explosions in 2010 so far than in the same period of 2009.
The Yarmuk fighters also began to simultaneously act as a sort of a Taliban-style morality police, targeting alleged "dens of vice".
Militant
The word militant, which is both an adjective and a noun, usually is used to mean vigorously active, combative and aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in 'militant reformers'. It comes from the 15th century Latin "militare" meaning "to serve as a soldier"...
Islamist
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
jamaat
Jamaat
The term Jamaat can apply to the following:*Jamia - a gathering or congregatation; place of gathering.*Jamaat-e-Islami - a South Asian Islamic movement based in Pakistan, Bangladesh and India .*Jamaat-ul-Muslimeen - a Muslim organization in Indo-Pak.*Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind - an Islamic group in...
organization connected to numerous attacks against the local and federal security forces in 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 Kabardino-Balkaria
Kabardino-Balkaria
The Kabardino-Balkar Republic , or Kabardino-Balkaria , is a federal subject of Russia located in the North Caucasus. Population: -Geography:The republic is situated in the North Caucasus mountains, with plains in the northern part....
in the 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....
. Yarmuk became part 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...
in 2005 and joined the Caucasus Emirate
Caucasus Emirate
The Caucasus Emirate also known as the Caucasian Emirate is a self-proclaimed virtual state entity, partially successor to the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria and was officially announced on October 31, 2007 by former President of Ichkeria Dokka Umarov, who became the first Emir...
in 2007.
The group drew most of its early members from the Balkars
Balkars
The Balkars are a Turkic people of the Caucasus region, one of the titular populations of Kabardino-Balkaria. They are possibly Bulgars or are descended from them...
, a small ethnic minority in the republic, however their long-time leader between 2005 and 2010, Anzor Astemirov
Anzor Astemirov
Anzor Astemirov , also known as Emir Sayfullah , was an Islamist militant leader in the Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, in the North Caucasus....
(Emir Sayfullah), was a Kabardin; there are also members from the other ethnic groups, including the Karachays
Karachays
The Karachays are Turkic speaking people of the North Caucasus, mostly situated in the Russian Karachay-Cherkess Republic.-History:The Karachays are a Turkic speaking people descending from the Kipchaks and probably the Cumans, with some admixture of the medieval Alans and native Caucasians; their...
and ethnic Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
. The group was named after the 7th Century Battle of Yarmuk
Battle of Yarmouk
The Battle of Yarmouk was a major battle between the Muslim Arab forces of the Rashidun Caliphate and the armies of the East Roman-Byzantine Empire. The battle consisted of a series of engagements that lasted for six days in August 636, near the Yarmouk River, along what is today the border...
.
Origins
The group began as a moderate, non-violent organization, named the Islamic Center in 1993, which was later renamed as the Jamaat of Kabardino-Balkaria when it has been not allowed to re-register under this name in 1997. However, it gradually changed due to the persecution by Valery KokovValery Kokov
Valery Mukhamedovich Kokov was a Russian politician of Kabardian ethnicity.- Early Life and Political Career :Kokov was born in Tyrnyauz, Kabardino-Balkaria. He was the leader of Kabardino-Balkaria from 1990 to 2005...
, the long-time ruler of the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria (KBR) who labeled all alternatives to the local branch of the Spiritual Board of Russia's Muslims, operating the only official mosque in the republic, as "Wahhabis" and indiscriminately and brutally harassed them.
Mounting pressure from the continued crackdown forced the group's leader, Mussa Mukozhoyev (Musa Mukozhev), to join the underground, while many local young radicals slipped away to join the Islamic Peacekeeping Army that invaded the 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...
from 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 or to fight on the Chechen separatist
Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria is the unrecognized secessionist government of Chechnya. The republic was proclaimed in late 1991 by Dzokhar Dudayev, and fought two devastating wars between separatists and the Russian Federation which denounced secession...
side in 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 ....
. Yarmuk was originally founded as a unit of around 30 Balkars and Kabardinians, led by Muslim Atayev
Muslim Atayev
Muslim Atayev also known as Emir Sayfullah was the founder the Yarmuk Jamaat, which later became part of the Caucasus Front's Kabardino-Balkarian Sector in the Russian-held Caucasian Muslim state Kabardino-Balkaria of the Second Chechen War...
(Emir Sayfullah), which trained at the Chechen warlord Ruslan Gelayev's camp in Pankisi Gorge
Pankisi Gorge
The Pankisi Gorge or Pankisi is a valley region in Georgia, in the northeastern corner of the country, bordering the Chechnyan republic of the Russian Federation. Administratively, it is included in the Akhmeta district of the Kakheti region...
, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, and in 2002 helped Gelayev's forces in the raid of the village of Galashki
Galashki
Galashki is a village in Sunzhensky District of the Republic of Ingushetia, Russia, located on the left bank of the Sunzha River near the border with the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania...
in the republic of Ingushetia
Ingushetia
The Republic of Ingushetia is a federal subject of Russia , located in the North Caucasus region with its capital at Magas. In terms of area, the republic is the smallest of Russia's federal subjects except for the two federal cities, Moscow and Saint Petersburg...
. Upon their return to Kabardino-Balkaria, Atayev and his men launched a recruitment drive among the alienated and radicalized youth.
Radical Chechen commander 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...
maintained such close ties with the local "Wahhabis" that he even lived in the town of Baksan
Baksan
Baksan is a town in the Kabardino-Balkar Republic, Russia, located northwest of Nalchik on the left bank of the Baksan River . Population: -History:...
for more than a month in 2003, before narrowly escaping a police raid. An Ingush
Ingush people
The Ingush are a native ethnic group of the North Caucasus, mostly inhabiting the Russian republic of Ingushetia. They refer to themselves as Ghalghai . The Ingush are predominantly Sunni Muslims and speak the Ingush language...
would-be suicide bomber Zarema Muzhakhoyeva
Zarema Muzhakhoyeva
Zarema Muzhakhoyeva is an Ingush woman and would-be shahidka who surrendered to Moscow police on July 9, 2003, instead of blowing herself up...
lived in the republic's capital Nalchik
Nalchik
Nalchik is the capital city of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic, Russia, situated at an altitude of in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains; about northwest of Beslan in the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania. It covers an area of...
too, before going on a failed suicide mission to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, and a Nalchik resident housed the alleged organizer of the August 2004 bombing
August 2004 Moscow metro bombing
The August 2004 Moscow metro bombing took place in the morning on August 31, 2004, when a female suicide bomber blew herself up outside Rizhskaya metro station, killing at least 10 people and wounding 50....
in the Moscow metro.
Early militant activities
In August 2004, Yarmuk announced the beginning of military operations in the republic. Their online manifest rejected terrorismTerrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
and referred to alleged government responsibility for the 1999 Russian apartment bombings
Russian apartment bombings
The Russian apartment bombings were a series of explosions that hit four apartment blocks in the Russian cities of Buynaksk, Moscow, and Volgodonsk in September 1999, killing 293 people and injuring 651. The explosions occurred in Buynaksk on 4 September, Moscow on 9 and 13 September, and...
("We are not fighting against women or children, like Russian invaders are doing in Ichkeria
Ichkeria
Ichkeria can refer to:* Ichkeria , the historical Turkic name for a region more or less coinciding with the Republic of Chechnya* Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, the secessionist government of Chechnya...
. We are not blowing up sleeping people, like FSB of the Russian Federation does"), focusing on the corruption of the "mafia clans" that lead the republic ("These mere apologies for rulers, who sold themselves to the invaders, have made drug addiction, prostitution, poverty, crime, depravity, drunkenness and unemployment prosper in our Republic").
Yarmuk launched its first attack in Kabardino-Balkaria that same month, ambushing policemen in Chegem
Chegem
Chegem is a town and the administrative center of Chegemsky District of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic, Russia, located north of Nalchik, at the elevation of about . Population:...
district. A turning point came in December 2004, when Yarmuk members conducted a raid
2004 Nalchik raid
The 2004 Nalchik raid was an armed attack against headquarters of the regional branch of the Federal Drug Control Service in Nalchik, capital of the Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria in the North Caucasus, which took place at about 3 to 6 a.m...
on office of the federal drug control agency in Nalchik, during which they seized large quantities of weapons and ammunition. The founding leader of Yarmuk, Muslim Atayev, was soon killed when the police stormed an apartment in Nalchik in January 2005, however his organization has continued to operate, periodically staging attacks under the leadership of his successor, Rustam Bekanov, until his was killed three months later and replaced by Anzor Astemirov, a former deputy director of the Islamic Center. The group's base of operations was Nalchik as well as Balkarian enclave around Mount Elbrus
Mount Elbrus
Mount Elbrus is an inactive volcano located in the western Caucasus mountain range, in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia, Russia, near the border of Georgia. Mt. Elbrus's peak is the highest in the Caucasus, in Russia...
(the highest peak in Europe).
The Nalchik raid and its consequences
Yarmuk was the main force involved in the botched large-scale raid by around 100-200 mostly untrained militants on the capital Nalchik, during which more than 140 people, including 95 alleged insurgents, were killed in 2005; scores of suspect were also detained after the attack and 52 were put on trial (ongoing as of 2010). The Jamaat apparently lost most of its members, including the deputy leader Ilyas GorchkhanovIlyas Gorchkhanov
Ilyas Gorchkhanov was the first leader of the Ingush Jamaat, which later became part of the Caucasus Front's Ingushetian Sector in Ingushetia of the Second Chechen War....
. Its survivors retrenched following the Nalchik debacle, and in late 2007 were subsumed into a larger fighting unit that would operate not only in Kabardino-Balkaria but also in the neighboring republic of Karachay-Cherkessia
Karachay-Cherkessia
The Karachay-Cherkess Republic , or Karachay-Cherkessia is a federal subject of Russia . Population: -Geography:*Area: *Borders:**internal: Krasnodar Krai , Kabardino-Balkar Republic , Stavropol Krai ....
after the destruction of its native Karachay Jamaat. The number of attacks attributed to Yarmuk at that time has been relatively low, compromised mostly of targeted assassinations like this of Anatoly Kyarov
Anatoly Kyarov
Colonel Anatoly Kyarov was the head of the Russia's Kabardino-Balkaria republic's UBOP...
(one major exception was shooting of a group of nine Russian hunters in November 2007), however the militants systematically kept recruiting new fighters and gathering weapons.
Resurgence
In 2010, following the death of Astemirov in March, the leadership was assumed by the far more aggressive, Baksan area-based young commander Emir Abdullah (Asker Dzhappuyev), who then apparently regroupped Yarmuk and changed its tactics. Since then, the group perpetrated two high-profile bombings (a blast at the Nalchik hippodrome that injured two ministers during May DayMay Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
festivities and a sabotage attack in the Baksan hydroelectric power station
Baksan hydroelectric power station
The Baksan hydroelectric power station is a small hydroelectric power station on the Baksan River in Atazhukino, Baksansky District, Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia. It is one of the oldest hydroelectric Russia. It is owned by RusHydro.-History:...
that inflicted significant economic damage in July) and a large number of near-daily attacks directed against members of security forces. According the Russian fedeal Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev
Rashid Nurgaliyev
Rashid Gumarovich Nurgaliyev is a Russian general and politician of the Tatars descent. Since 2002, he has been the minister of the Internal Affairs of Russia.-Early years:...
in November 2010, "the highest level of the terrorist threat in the North Caucasus is in the republics of Dagestan and Kabardino-Balkaria", allegedly eclipsing even Chechnya and Ingushetia, as the KBR saw six time more gun attacks and nearly five times more explosions in 2010 so far than in the same period of 2009.
The Yarmuk fighters also began to simultaneously act as a sort of a Taliban-style morality police, targeting alleged "dens of vice".