Rustam Asildarov (Aselderov) (9 March 1981 – 3 December 2016), also known as Emir Abu Muhammad Kadarsky, was the leader of the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

(ISIL) North Caucasus branch, and a former leader of the militant Caucasus Emirate's

Vilayat Dagestan Vilayat Dagestan (; russian: Вилайят Дагестан, Vilayyat Dagestan), formerly known as Shariat Jamaat, was an Islamist Jihadist group based in the Russian republic of Dagestan and is part of the Caucasus Emirate. The group is clos ...

wing.

Biography

Asildarov grew up in the Kadar region of the

Buynaksky District Buynaksky District (russian: Буйнакский район, kum, Шура якъ) is an administrativeLaw #16 and municipalLaw #6 district (raion), one of the forty-one in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia. It is located in the center of the ...

in Russia's republic of Dagestan. During the late 1990s, the area became a regional center of

Salafism The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generat ...

and had de facto independence, before military operations in September 1999 brought it back under the control of the Russian state. Asildarov became the leader of Vilayat Dagestan's Central Sector in May 2010, and on 8 August 2012, Caucasus Emirate's leader,

Dokka Umarov Doku Khamatovich Umarov ( ce, Ӏумар Хьамади кӀант Докка, translit='Umar Ẋamadi khant Dokka, ; russian: Доку Хаматович Умаров, Doku Khamatovich Umarov; 13 April 1964 – 7 September 2013), also known as ...

, appointed Asildarov as the overall leader of Vilayat Dagestan, following the death of Ibragimkhalil Daudov. In December 2014, a video clip of Asildarov was posted online, in which he retracted his oath of allegiance to Umarov's successor, Aliaskhab Kebekov, and pledged loyalty to

Islamic State An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

leader

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ( ar, أبو بكر البغدادي, ʾAbū Bakr al-Baḡdādī; born Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim Ali Muhammad al-Badri al-Samarrai ( ar, إبراهيم عواد إبراهيم علي محمد البدري السامرائي, ʾIb ...

. Kebekov responded days later with a video, in which he condemned Asildarov's "betrayal" and appointed Kamil Saidov as the new leader of Vilayat Dagestan. In an audio statement on 23 June 2015, ISIL's spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani accepted pledges of allegiance to the group made by

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...

militants, and announced the creation of a new Wilayat or Province covering the region. Adnani declared the leader of this new branch to be Abu Muhammad al-Qadari, a

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

of Asildarov. On 29 September 2015, the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

added Asildarov to its list of

Specially Designated Global Terrorist A Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) is a person or entity that has been designated as such by the United States Department of State or the US Department of the Treasury. An SDGT designation is made under authority of US Executive Order ...

s. On 3 December 2016, the FSB announced that Asildarov and four close associates had been killed in an anti-terror raid near

Makhachkala Makhachkala ( rus, Махачкала, , məxətɕkɐˈla, links=yes),; av, Махӏачхъала, Maħaçqala; ce, ХӀинжа-ГӀала, Hinƶa-Ġala; az, Маһачгала, Mahaçqala; nog, Махачкала; lbe, Махачкъала; ...

, Dagestan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asildarov, Rustam 1981 births 2016 deaths Caucasus Emirate members Individuals designated as terrorists by the United States government Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant members People from Kalmykia People of the Chechen wars Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Russia People shot dead by law enforcement officers in Russia Leaders of Islamic terror groups