Abu Jihad: A Brief Profile of Islamic State’s Russian Propaganda Master

Abu Jihad: A Brief Profile of Islamic State’s Russian Propaganda Master

On August 10, 2015, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department implemented an executive order sanctioning three Russian citizens involved in terrorist activities. Among the individuals mentioned on the sanctions list was North Caucasian militant Abu-Jihad, one of the key Russian-speaking Islamic State (IS) jihadists in Syria and Iraq (Federal Register, August 10, 2015). Abu Jihad is considered to be the main Russian-speaking ideologue of IS, and his videos rapidly became popular among jihadists in the post-Soviet region.

Background

Islam Seit-Umarovich Atabiev (a.k.a. Abu Jihad), an ethnic Karachai, was born on September 29, 1983 in Ust-Dzheguta, a small town in the Russian republic of Karachaevo-Cherkessia (FedsFm.ru, n/d). At age 20, Abu Jihad (his nom de guerre, which means “the father of jihad” in Arabic) and his brother enrolled in one of the most prestigious Islamic universities in Egypt, al-Azhar. Despite his ethnic background, Abu Jihad did not join the Karachai Jamaat, which was an active militant group associated with the Chechen rebels during the Second Chechen War. Returning to Karachaevo-Cherkessia after three years of study, Abu Jihad quickly drew the attention of the regional security services, likely due to his contacts with the local Islamist insurgency linked to Imarat Kavkaz (Caucasus Emirate). Although he did not participate in active combat, Abu Jihad was sentenced to one year in prison in 2010 on charges of banditry (Kavkaz Realii, September 21, 2016; Gazeta.ru, August 8, 2016; Kommersant, February 22, 2005). The online anonymous Russian counter-terrorism blog known as KaPress, which provides partly credible unverified news leaks and classified information related to North Caucasian militants, suggests that Abu Jihad avoided a long sentence by providing Russian law enforcement with operative information about arms caches belonging to Zurab Shnakhov’s group and about the group led by Murat Ristov, who was later killed in Nalchik (KaPress, November 28, 2014). Following his release, Abu Jihad left Russia and moved to Syria.

Abu Jihad in Syria

As with the vast majority of North Caucasians in Syria, Abu Jihad initially joined Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (JMA). He left that group in 2013, joining IS along with Umar al-Shishani. The pretext for leaving JMA was the group’s policy that prevented militants from returning to the North Caucasus (Azattyq, June 1, 2015). Abu Jihad’s decision to join IS was followed by his meteoric rise among Russian-speaking jihadists. Abu Jihad quickly became the right-hand man and main spokesman of prominent IS commander Umar al-Shishani (Kavpolit, July 14, 2014). Although Abu Jihad did not have experience as a military commander, his significant contribution to jihad was his ideological work. As part of this, he ran the Russian-language online IS resource Furat Media (Gazeta.ru, August 8, 2016). This media resource has released numerous propaganda videos that feature Abu Jihad. He was also an editor of the propagandist online IS magazine Istok, produced for IS’ Russian-speaking followers.

Due to his competence in Islamic law, he was actively involved in the decision-making process in the IS sharia court and even delivered verdicts. Abu Jihad is believed to have been a key negotiator with field commanders who were eventually convinced to pledge allegiance to IS. He also was actively involved in the recruitment of the famous Dagestani Salafist preachers, Nadir Abu-Khalid (Nadir Medetov) and Ahmad Medinsky, who in 2015 left Dagestan, and joined the militant group by pledging allegiance to the IS in Iraq (Voice of America, June 22, 2017; Chechens in Syria, June 28, 2015). According to Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee, Abu Jihad was behind the suicide bombing attack on the St. Petersburg metro in 2017 (Rbc.ru, April 20, 2017). While in Syria, he was appointed as the Amir of Atma, a small town in northern Syria (Gazeta.ru, August 8, 2016).

Despite being an influential militant in Syria, Abu Jihad has a highly controversial reputation among the members and supporters of the North Caucasian insurgency. During the confrontation between Imarat Kavkaz militants and the North Caucasian faction of IS, Imarat Kavkaz leader Aliaskhab Kebekov disassociated himself from Abu Jihad and forbade him from making statements on behalf of Imarat Kavkaz (Kavpolit, July 14, 2014). Non-IS jihadists believe that Abu Jihad has caused a schism between groups of foreign fighters from the Caucasus in Syria. Many also grew to resent him due to the fact he rose to prominence without participating combat, while casualties among North Caucasian IS militants during the siege of Kobane were extremely high. Some his jihadist opponents even gave him pejorative nicknames such as Abu Kazab (Arab. Kazab ‘liar’), Abu Kreslo (Rus. Kreslo ‘chair’), or Abu Jahil (Arab. Jahil ‘ignorant’) (Svobodnaya Pressa – Yug, October 24, 2016; Chechens in Syria, June 21).

Outlook

Abu Jihad’s current whereabouts are unknown. Since the fall of IS, Abu Jihad has not appeared in any propaganda video or images. It is possible that he either resides in the small remaining IS-held territories or lives illegally in one of the states neighboring Syria. Due to his lack of battlefield experience and the fact that he is a foreigner, it is unlikely he is participating in asymmetrical warfare in Syria or Iraq along with one of the IS armed groups. Although the information about his current status is limited in open sources, several important factors give insight into Abu Jihad’s future prospects. First, Abu Jihad has been officially sanctioned as a terrorist, which will severely constrain his movement worldwide. Aside from being on the U.S. terrorist list, he is wanted by the Russian security services, which creates additional barriers for him. Second, the confrontation between the IS and non-IS Russian-speaking jihadists damaged his reputation in the North Caucasus. As new rebel groups emerge in the region, they are highly unlikely to associate themselves with Abu Jihad. Furthermore, compared to other North Caucasian people, the jihadist tendencies among ethnic Karachais are weak, and it is unlikely he would be able to inspire his compatriots to wage jihad against Russian troops or local officials. The key to Abu Jihad’s success was the luxurious living conditions in IS-held territories, known as “five-star jihad,” which created favorable conditions for his ideological activities. If he has been forced underground, Abu Jihad will be ineffective and unable to contribute to the global jihad.