Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya

<br>

The Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya () () is an international unit of Islamist Mujahideen fighting in Chechnya and other parts of the North Caucasus.

It was created by Fathi al-Jordani in 1995 during the First Chechen War, where it fought successfully against the Russian Federation in favor of Chechnya's independence as the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. Since the outbreak of the Second Chechen War it played an important part in further Chechen resistance.

Name

The unit has been known by several names throughout its existence. Examples include the Mujahideen in Chechnya, the Islamic Regiment, the Islamic Battalion, the Arabs in Chechnya and the Ansaar in Chechnya. The term 'Arab Mujahideen' is often used by one of the rebels' official media outlets, Kavkaz Center.

Although the core of the unit has always consisted of Arab volunteers, a large number of its members are in fact non-Arab (most notably Turkish) and some trace their ancestry to the Caucasus. It is not to be confused with the Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (SPIR), al-Qaeda<nowiki>’s</nowiki> 055 Brigade or the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade (IIPB).

History

Foreign Mujahideen have played an important part in both First and Second Chechen Wars. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent Chechen declaration of independence, foreign fighters started entering the region and associated themselves with Chechen rebels, most notably Shamil Basayev...
Read More