Chechen Mujahideen

The Chechen Mujahideen (Russian: моджахеды в Чечне, Muzhakhady v Chechnye; Arabic: المجاهدون الشيشان) were foreign Islamist Mujahideen volunteers that fought in Chechnya and other parts of the North Caucasus.

It was created by Saudi militant Ibn al-Khattab in 1995 during the First Chechen War, where it fought against the Russian Federation in favor of Chechnya's independence as the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. During the Second Chechen War it played an important part in further fighting.

Name

The unit has been known by several names throughout its existence. Examples include the Chechen Mujahideen, the Islamic Regiment, the Islamic Battalion, the Arabs in Chechnya and the Ansaar in Chechnya.

Although the overwhelming majority of the unit has always consisted of Arab volunteers, there were also members of non-Arab, usually Kurds, Turks and other North Cauсasians such as Dagestanis. It is not to be confused with the Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (SPIR), al-Qaeda’s 055 Brigade or the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade (IIPB).

References