“What is the story of Abdul Hakim Al-Shishani and the anti-Russian groups?”
January 2023 Propaganda
In January 2023, the propaganda of jihadist groups that are ideologically and militarily anti-Russian or that target Russia for tactical and strategic reasons (in some cases also military) continued to be produced regularly. In some cases, it directly concerns Russia, such as the operation of some jihadists in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, in other cases, it concerns groups composed of Russian fighters (Chechens, Dagestani, Ingush, Tatars, Circassians, Georgians), but also from former Soviet areas such as Uzbeks, Tajiks, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, who fight and make propaganda in other theatres of operation, such as Syria. In other cases, Russia is indirectly affected, as it is attacked by Syrian jihadist groups who see it as a target because it is an ally of Bashar al-Assad, or in Africa where they target Russian contractors Wagner, or finally in Afghanistan because it is seen by the Islamic State as an ally or supporter of the Taliban.
Jihadist presence in the conflict in Ukraine
One of the most interesting stories to report for the current month is the one related to Abdul Hakim al-Shishani.
Abdul Hakim al-Shishani left the Latakia countryside in Syria with about 30 of his men to fight the Russians, which was the group's main target, when they went to Syria to fight.
Rustam Azhiev, better known as Abdul Hakim al-Shishani, is first and foremost a veteran of the Chechen wars. Born in 1981 in a small settlement near Grozny, he joined the Chechen resistance as a special soldier shortly after the start of the Second Chechen War in 1999, and soon rose through the ranks to become military supervisor of the central sector of the Chechen region, which was under the control of the Caucasus Emirate in 2007, and then became the Emir of Grozny. Wounded in battle in 2009 with explosives, he was treated in Poland. Once discharged, he moved first to Georgia and then to Turkey. He arrived in Syria in late 2012 with a group of Chechen veterans and loyalists. In 2015, with the beginning of the Russian intervention in Syria, Abdul Hakim al-Shishani formed Ajnad al Kavkaz, which actively operated in the countryside, mountains, and forests of Latakia and the northern areas of Hama.