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| Isis 'war minister' targeted in Syria had been in Georgian army | Isis 'war minister' targeted in Syria had been in Georgian army |
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| Tarkhan Batirashvili is not only believed to be one of the most senior figures in Isis, he is also one of the most mysterious. Batirashvili, who goes by the nom de guerre Omar al-Shishani (Omar the Chechen) has rarely been seen in public in the past two years, during which time the US believes he has risen to become the group’s de facto “minister for war”. | Tarkhan Batirashvili is not only believed to be one of the most senior figures in Isis, he is also one of the most mysterious. Batirashvili, who goes by the nom de guerre Omar al-Shishani (Omar the Chechen) has rarely been seen in public in the past two years, during which time the US believes he has risen to become the group’s de facto “minister for war”. |
| Confirmation is yet to come that the airstrike on 4 March that targeted his vehicle was successful. Russian media have reported his death several times over the past few years but each time the news has turned out to be false. | |
| Batirashvili, despite his nickname, has a very different biography to the vast majority of Chechens fighting in Syria. Ethnically, he is a Kist, a Chechen subgroup from the other side of the Caucasus mountains in Georgia. | Batirashvili, despite his nickname, has a very different biography to the vast majority of Chechens fighting in Syria. Ethnically, he is a Kist, a Chechen subgroup from the other side of the Caucasus mountains in Georgia. |
| While many of the Chechens in Syria are either veterans of the independence wars against Russia or young Muslims radicalised in the current authoritarian climate in the North Caucasus, Batirashvili previously served in the US-trained Georgian army. | While many of the Chechens in Syria are either veterans of the independence wars against Russia or young Muslims radicalised in the current authoritarian climate in the North Caucasus, Batirashvili previously served in the US-trained Georgian army. |
| He fought with the Georgians during the brief war with Russia in 2008, but was discharged after contracting tuberculosis, and later jailed for gun-running. It is believed he was radicalised during his time in prison and at some point in 2012 he is thought to have arrived in Syria. | He fought with the Georgians during the brief war with Russia in 2008, but was discharged after contracting tuberculosis, and later jailed for gun-running. It is believed he was radicalised during his time in prison and at some point in 2012 he is thought to have arrived in Syria. |
| Batirashvili’s father told Georgian television from his home village in the Pankisi Gorge on Wednesday that he had received no information about the death of his son. He said he had not spoken to him for a long time. | Batirashvili’s father told Georgian television from his home village in the Pankisi Gorge on Wednesday that he had received no information about the death of his son. He said he had not spoken to him for a long time. |
| Georgia’s defence minister Tina Khidasheli told journalists on Wednesday that she had received information from the Pentagon about the strike against al-Shishani but that for now his death had not been confirmed. | Georgia’s defence minister Tina Khidasheli told journalists on Wednesday that she had received information from the Pentagon about the strike against al-Shishani but that for now his death had not been confirmed. |
| Related: Murder in Istanbul: Kremlin's hand suspected in shooting of Chechen | Related: Murder in Istanbul: Kremlin's hand suspected in shooting of Chechen |
| There are believed to be several thousand Chechens and other Muslims from the post-Soviet world fighting in Syria, for an array of different groupings. Many Chechens first travel to Istanbul, where they are recruited to join Isis or other groups fighting inside Syria. | There are believed to be several thousand Chechens and other Muslims from the post-Soviet world fighting in Syria, for an array of different groupings. Many Chechens first travel to Istanbul, where they are recruited to join Isis or other groups fighting inside Syria. |
| A Chechen source currently based in Ukraine told the Guardian recently that Isis recruiters used to work among the Chechen community in Istanbul fairly openly, but that in the past six months they have gone underground, as Turkish authorities take the threat more seriously. | A Chechen source currently based in Ukraine told the Guardian recently that Isis recruiters used to work among the Chechen community in Istanbul fairly openly, but that in the past six months they have gone underground, as Turkish authorities take the threat more seriously. |
| The Caucasus elements among the jihadi fighters in Syria form a complex web of rivalries and alliances, with different groups splitting off at different moments. Batirashvili had initially led a group of foreign fighters in Syria, but many of the Chechens and other North Caucasians involved in the group refused to follow him when he moved to Isis in 2013, aligning with the al-Nusra front instead. | The Caucasus elements among the jihadi fighters in Syria form a complex web of rivalries and alliances, with different groups splitting off at different moments. Batirashvili had initially led a group of foreign fighters in Syria, but many of the Chechens and other North Caucasians involved in the group refused to follow him when he moved to Isis in 2013, aligning with the al-Nusra front instead. |
| Last year Abdulvakhid Edelgireyev, a Chechen involved in fundraising for the Islamic insurgency in Russia’s North Caucasus who spent a year fighting in Syria, was killed in Istanbul by assassins who waited outside his apartment block. Edelgireyev’s first wife and Batirashvili’s wife are sisters, though Edelgireyev’s father said his son and Batirashvili had little contact as his son was not an Isis supporter. | Last year Abdulvakhid Edelgireyev, a Chechen involved in fundraising for the Islamic insurgency in Russia’s North Caucasus who spent a year fighting in Syria, was killed in Istanbul by assassins who waited outside his apartment block. Edelgireyev’s first wife and Batirashvili’s wife are sisters, though Edelgireyev’s father said his son and Batirashvili had little contact as his son was not an Isis supporter. |