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Muslim Shishani

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Murat Akhmetovich Margoshvili
Muslim Shishani in 2021
Nickname(s)Muslim Shishani
Muslim al Shishani
Muslim Abu Walid al Shishani[1]
Born26 May 1972 (1972-05-26)[2]
Duisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union[2]
(now Georgia)
Allegiance
Battles / warsFirst Chechen War
Second Chechen War

Insurgency in the North Caucasus[6]
Syrian Civil War[5]

Murat Akhmetovich Margoshvili,[2] also known by his kunya Muslim Shishani or Muslim Abu Walid al Shishani (taken from the Saudi fighter Abu al-Walid), was the emir of the defunct Junud al-Sham group in Syria.

Early life

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Shishani is a Georgian national belonging to the Kist people, a Chechen subethnos residing in the Pankisi Gorge.[15] He was born into a poor family and did not attend any local schools, becoming a shepherd instead. Later on in his childhood, his family moved to the Soviet Union where he finished basic education and served in the Soviet Army. Then the family moved back to the Pankisi Gorge and later back to the Soviet Union to settle in Grozny where Shishani worked in construction before the outbreak of the First Chechen War.[16]

North Caucasus wars

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He joined Ibn Khattab's group in 1995 using his wealth to support the group. During the Second Battle of Grozny he was severely wounded. After healing from his wounds he participated in the Battle of Vedeno alongside many other battles.[7] A few years later he was promoted to emir of Vedeno.[6] After the death of Ibn Khattab he also served with Abu al-Walid in Chechnya.[1]

Shishani was appointed emir of the Sunzhensky District of Ingushetia on 11 May 2003 at a shura council meeting by Dokka Umarov, Shamil Basayev, Ruslan Gelayev, Vakha Arsanov, Abdul-Malik Mezhidov, and Abu al-Walid. He was in charge of multiple attacks in Ingushetia in 2003.[17] An ambush near Galashki on 30 July employing a remote IED[18] killed five Russian servicemen and another attack on 7 August, utilizing an RPG-18 and machine guns, near Nesterovskaya, killed six Russian servicemen.[17]

He was arrested on 11 October 2003.[19] According to Memorial, a Russian human rights organization, he and four other companions were abducted in Ordzhonikidzevskaya. He was eventually found jailed in Vladikavkaz.[20] Shishani was "convicted of involvement in an illegal armed group" in 2004, though he was acquitted of arms smuggling charges.[21] In February 2006 Shishani was acquitted on all charges by the Supreme Court of Ingushetia and quickly left the courthouse; afterwards the courthouse was "besieged" by agents who his Moscow Bar Association lawyer suspected to be part of the Federal Security Service (FSB).[22]

During the Russo-Georgian War a group that included Shishani notified the Georgian government that they had prepared 250 people in the gorge to fight against Russia[16] but the war ended before they were called upon.[4]

In 2008, he traveled to Dagestan and organized militants there[6] as part of the Caucasus Emirate.[23] Shishani was a prominent figure in the Caucasus Emirate where he mainly trained soldiers. His presence opened up a passage for fighters from Georgia to travel to Dagestan. He continued training soldiers in Dagestan until the Lopota incident around mid-2012.[16] After this, Shishani moved back to Georgia and tried multiple times to enter Chechnya and once he realised it was impossible, he went to Syria through Turkey.[7]

Syrian civil war

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Junud al-Sham

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Muslim Shishani established Junud al-Sham in 2012.[4] Sometime between his arrival and participation in the 2013 Latakia offensive, Shishani was in Aleppo, where he trained fighters associated with Sayfullakh Shishani's jamaat.[24] The offensive however was the first documented time that Muslim Shishani's group took part in active conflict. During this offensive, they captured the strategic hilltop village of Durin, earning Shishani the nickname Sopka Durin meaning "Durin hilltop" in Russian.[6] Later in October, Muslim Shishani, Abu Musa al Shishani and Sayfullakh Shishani merged their groups,[6] which came under Muslim Shishani's command.[25] After the merger the group took part in the 2014 Latakia offensive, capturing several key points along the Turkish border including the strategic Observatory 45 until they were forced to withdraw due to Syrian Arab Armed Forces (SAA) attacks.[24][10] In September of that year, Shishani was sanctioned by the US State Department[26] for reportedly building a base for foreign fighters.[27] Shishani was also in contact with Tarkhan Batirashvili (Abu Omar al-Shishani) before he joined Islamic State (ISIS). After joining ISIS, Abu Omar was approached by Muslim Shishani to persuade him that "ISIS brutality had nothing to do with Islam." Shishani blamed Batirashvili's inexperience for joining the group.[4]

Shishani also played an important role in the capture of Jisr as Shughour.[11] According to the Turkish newspaper Yeni Akit, Shishani participated in the 2018 Turkish offensive.[28] He denied this and said that his group was in Hama countryside during the SAA offensive.[12][29] In an interview from October 2018 he stressed the importance of Muslims needing to fund jihad. He also mentioned that there were injustices in many groups in Syria and that these groups regularly fought each other. He mentioned that this infighting could have been remedied if fighters were brought together and were financially supported. Later on in the interview he envisioned that "the Ummah will soon rejoice over our victories." At the end of the interview he advises the Mujahideen in Syria to be patient and prepare for the next round of jihad.[30]

Junud al-Sham returned to the Latakia front after the 2018 offensive. Here they took part in many local battles during the broader Syrian Army offensives like the Battle of Kabanah.[13] Their military activities lasted up to the 2020 ceasefire.[31][better source needed]

In 2021 members from Junud al-Sham were involved in numerous criminal activities and used the group as cover to evade conviction. Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham demanded Shishani cooperate to get the criminals arrested. Shishani released a statement wherein he said that the criminals were not in the group when the crimes were committed. He also clarified that he was asked to dismantle Junud al-Sham and leave Idlib after a summon from the HTS General Security Services on 22 June. HTS affiliated media released a video on 8 July where it is claimed that the group did not fight during heavy offensives in 2015 and 2016. Furthermore criminals purportedly belonging to Junud al-Sham said that they were members of the group. Following this Shishani disbanded the group on 8 July and the group left their positions near Tuffahiyeh.[32]

Post-Junud al-Sham

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In October 2021 there were clashes in the Turkmen Mountain region between Jundallah, an extremist group in Idlib, and Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, close to where Shishani and his family settled. They were forced to leave the area during the clashes. The clashes between Jundullah and HTS were erroneously reported to include Junud al-Sham as well.[14] Shishani later settled with his family[4] near the Christian village of Al-Yacoubiyah in the Jisr ash-Shughur countryside. That December, a Russian Airforce Sukhoi Su-24 bombed his residence, killing a bodyguard and their child while failing to kill Shishani.[33]

References

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  1. ^ a b Paraszczuk, Joanna (4 July 2014). "The Clear Banner: 'Let Him Eat Leaves:' North Caucasians Aligned to Islamic State Slam Caucasus Emirate Emir". Jihadology. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
  2. ^ a b c "Ethnic Kist Murad Margoshvili on the Specially Designated Global Terrorists list". Front News. 25 September 2014. Archived from the original on 3 November 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  3. ^ Roggio, Bill (24 September 2014). "State Department adds Chechen, Moroccan-led jihadist groups to terrorist list". FDD's Long War Journal. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Georgia is our homeland – Exclusive interview with Muslim al-Shishani a.k.a Murad Margoshvili". Georgian Journal. 25 February 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
  5. ^ a b Souleimanov, Emil (2 July 2014). "Split Among North Caucasian Fighters in Syria". The Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Paraszczuk, Joanna (26 March 2014). "Syria: Who is Muslim Abu Walid Shishani? Part One". From Chechnya to Syria. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  7. ^ a b c d Hanzalah حنظلة, شام سنتر - سيرة مسلم الشيشاني أمير جند الشام لغة عربية روسية المانية, retrieved 23 January 2025
  8. ^ Paraszczuk, Joanna (15 February 2014). "Syria Video: The Death of Chechen Jihadi Sayfullakh in Attack On Aleppo Central Prison". EA WorldView. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  9. ^ Сирия Латакия Сопка Дурин. 4 September 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  10. ^ a b "Chechen al Qaeda commander, popular Saudi cleric, and an Ahrar al Sham leader spotted on front lines in Latakia". Long War Journal. 27 March 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
  11. ^ a b Conflict News [@Conflicts] (24 April 2015). "NEW VIDEO: Inside Jisr Ashugur today, with Muslim Shishani (In English) - @khattab_rt2" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 December 2015 – via Twitter.
  12. ^ a b "Tarkhan's Jamaat (Katiba İbad ar-Rahman) Fighting In Hama Alongside Muslim Shishani". From Chechnya To Syria. 29 January 2018. Archived from the original on 4 February 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  13. ^ a b @AnalystMick (20 November 2019). "German Junud al-Sham fighter at the front in #Kabani/#Kabana #Latakia. His rifle is an AKM fitted with SAR-308 furniture, which is quite common. Note craftmade suppresser which is the short version of the Idlibi pattern that first appeared in mid 2019 in Hama with HTS fighters" (Tweet). Retrieved 28 January 2025 – via Twitter.
  14. ^ a b "Muslim Shishani Steps Aside as HTS Concludes Security Operations against Jundullah". levant24. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  15. ^ Moore, Cerwyn (27 May 2015). "Foreign Bodies: Transnational Activism, the Insurgency in the North Caucasus and "Beyond"" (PDF). Terrorism and Political Violence. 27 (3): 395–415. doi:10.1080/09546553.2015.1032035. ISSN 0954-6553. S2CID 56451099.
  16. ^ a b c ""Does it matter where one fights against Russians? Jihad is jihad, no matter the place" - Muslim al-Shishani". Georgian Journal. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
  17. ^ a b Paraszczuk, Joanna (4 November 2018). "Muslim Shishani led attacks on Russian troops deploying to Ingushetia in 2003". From Chechnya to Syria. Archived from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  18. ^ "Chechen fighters kill five Russians". Al Jazeera English. 30 July 2003. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
  19. ^ Paraszczuk, Joanna (6 April 2014). "Syria: Russian Newspaper From 2003 Reports Arrest of Muslim Shishani". From Chechnya to Syria. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  20. ^ Paraszczuk, Joanna (6 April 2014). "The Strange Tale of Muslim Shishani Part 2: 2003 Kidnapping & Arrest". From Chechnya to Syria. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  21. ^ Paraszczuk, Joanna (7 April 2014). "The Strange Tale Of Muslim Shishani Part 3: FSB Accused Of Attempting His Kidnap". From Chechnya to Syria. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  22. ^ "Attempt to kidnap an acquitted Chechen resident from Ingushetia Supreme Court". Caucasian Knot. 4 February 2006. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  23. ^ Gordon M. Hahn (20 October 2015). "REPORT: An Anatomy of North Caucasus-Tied Jihadi Groups in Syria and Iraq". Russian & Eurasian Politics. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  24. ^ a b "Muslim Abu Walid Shishani Participating In Latakia Offensive". From Chechnya To Syria. 26 March 2014. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  25. ^ Vatchagaev, Mairbek (12 December 2013). "Chechens Among the Syrian Rebels: Small in Number, but Influential". Eurasia Daily Monitor. Archived from the original on 14 June 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  26. ^ Eckel, Mike (26 September 2014). "Behind Islamic State's Battlefield Gains, Battle-Hardened Chechens". Voice of America News. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  27. ^ "U.S. imposes financial sanctions on Islamist fighters". Reuters. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  28. ^ "Chechen commander on terror list participates in Afrin operation". ANF English. 25 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
  29. ^ "Чеченский командир рапортует об успехах в боях с сирийской армией". Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (in Russian). 19 December 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  30. ^ Chechen War Veteran Muslim Shishani Addresses the Muslim Ummah. 21 October 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2025 – via YouTube.
  31. ^ @AnalystMick (21 February 2020). "German foreign fighter with Junud al-Sham with a Mosin Nagant which was heavily customized with a custom stock, rebarreled with a PKT barrel and is fitted with a Fortuna One 3L/6L COTS thermal scope, likely on #Ribat in #Latakia" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  32. ^ "HTS and Muslim al-Shishani: What Happened?". Levant24. 9 July 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  33. ^ "Today #Russia carried out its second ad hominem airstrike in #Idlib since 2015. A Muslim Shishani's guard (& his son) were killed, 3-4 of his children & his wife are wounded. Other casualties are from nearby families". Twitter. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
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