Confirmed: Russia's 'Most Wanted' Terrorist Doku Umarov Killed

Chechen terrorist leader Doku Umarov has been on the wanted list of Russia, the US and UN Security Council for organizing multiple terror acts, kidnapping, contract murder and other grievous crimes in the Russian Federation

Putin's Nightmare: 'Emir of the Caucasus' Vows to Stop Sochi Winter Olympics

THE INDEPENDENT: In truth, this guerrilla war is just the latest stage in a cycle of oppression and resistance lasting centuries as Islamist leader and self-styled Emir of the Caucasus promises to use 'maximum force' to stop these Games

Any day soon, a bomb may go off in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. And if it does, it will be the nightmare that Vladimir Putin has been spending billions of roubles trying to prevent. The Winter Games, which start in February, have long been his pet project, designed to show the world how complete is his control over the territories of which he is president. The sudden rush of amnesties is just his latest ploy to sanitise the image of the Games.

With its sub-tropical climate, palm-fringed beaches, and sulphur springs, Sochi has been Russia’s most sybaritic winter holiday spot since the days of the tsars: it’s the Riviera of the Caucasus whose high mountains stretch eastwards, with embattled Chechnya just two hundred miles away. As a narrow ribbon of land where sea and snow-capped peaks are in close proximity, it was the obvious venue for the winter Olympics, and it has now been transformed by Putin’s hi-tech new infrastructure.

But Doku Umarov, the Chechen Islamist leader and self-styled Emir of the Caucasus, has promised to use “maximum force” to stop these Games. In a video message released in July, he declared: “They plan to hold the Olympics on the bones of our ancestors, on the bones of many, many Muslims buried on our land by the Black Sea. As mujahideen we are required not to permit that, using any methods that Allah allows us.” » | Michael Church | Thursday, December 26, 2013

Caucasus Report: Syrian Fighters Tell North Caucasus Muslims 'Wage Jihad at Home!'

RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY: In a short video address dated July 30, a group of Syrian fighters has appealed to Muslims in the North Caucasus to wage jihad in Russia rather than travel to Syria to participate in the fighting there. Specifically, they refer to the recent appeal by self-styled Caucasus Emirate leader Doku Umarov to prevent the holding of the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi in February 2014.

The address is delivered by a wheelchair-bound fighter identified as Salakhuddin who appears to have lost both legs. He is surrounded by seven masked fighters armed with heavy machine guns and grenade launchers.

Speaking in accented Russian, Salakhuddin begins by conveying Ramadan greetings to Muslims across Russia, and specifically to Umarov, whom he refers to as “our amir.” (He is wearing a black T-shirt bearing the slogan "Caucasus Emirate.")

Salakhuddin says there has been a “huge influx of volunteers” from the North Caucasus to join the armed opposition in Syria. He attributes that wave of volunteers to a widely held belief that "Syria is where you go to join the jihad."

Salakhuddin says it is understandable that Muslims from those areas of Russia where there is no jihad underway should share that belief, but that Muslims in the North Caucasus have an obligation to remain at home and fight there, even though conditions are far more difficult in terms of weaponry, support, and the possibility of withdrawing from the front to the rear. He cites a sura from the Koran in support of that argument. » | Wednesday, July 31, 2013