Chechen militants join grouping "The Victory Front" in Syria

A unit of militants in Syria, known as "Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar" and consisting largely of natives of Northern Caucasus, has joined the grouping "Jabhet al-Nusra" (The Victory Front), which is fighting both against the government forces and against the "Islamic State" (IS) in Syria. This was reported by a Chechen law enforcement source. The merge happened after Shishani Salakhuddin, the leader of the "Jaish al-Muhajirin wal-Ansar", and his supporters left the militant unit.

According to the law enforcers, the merge with the "Jabhet al-Nusra" has become a forced measure for the "Jaish al-Muhajirin wal-Ansar".

"The situation in Aleppo is quite difficult for the militants. So, they were forced to choose one of the sides - the IS or 'The Front of Victory', considered to be a unit of the 'Al-Qaeda'. They chose 'The Front of Victory'. The militants are likely counting on the support from the West, which does not recognize the IS, but which contacts and helps the so-called 'moderate opposition' in Syria," the law enforcer believes.

According to him, it is difficult to mention the precise number of Chechens in the ranks of the "Jaish al-Muhajirin wal-Ansar".

"Out of 1500 members of the 'Jaish al-Muhajirin wal-Ansar', the number of Chechen can reach about one third or a little more. The grouping also involves militants from Tatarstan, Central Asia, and other former Soviet republics," the law enforcer reports.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.