Abu Musa al Shishani is one of the

Chechen mujahideen in Syria The Chechen mujahideen in Syria (; ; Chechen: Noxçiyn mudƶahidaş Şemaẋ) are ethnic Chechen members of Sunni Islamist armed groups. They are organized into military factions, and take part in the civil war in Syria to fight against the g ...

. He is also the head of Jundallah in Syria and was the military emir of Ansar al-Sham.

Life

Al Shishani reportedly has roots in the

Pankisi Gorge Pankisi ( ka, პანკისი) or the Pankisi Gorge ( ka, პანკისის ხეობა, links=no, ''Pankisis Kheoba'') is a valley region in Georgia, in the upper reaches of River Alazani. It lies just south of Georgia’s hist ...

. He traveled to Syria in 2012 and reportedly had as many as 300 in his group by the following year. He was the "military strategist" of Ansar al-Sham. Ali Aswad al-Jiburi, an Iraqi

ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

militant, killed Abu Basir al-Ladhiqani, who was a member of the

Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA; ) is a Big tent, big-tent coalition of decentralized Syrian opposition (2011–2024), Syrian opposition rebel groups in the Syrian civil war founded on 29 July 2011 by Colonel Riad al-Asaad and six officers who defe ...

(FSA)'s Supreme Military Council, in the summer of 2013. al-Ladhiqani was also a local leader of a rebel group in

Latakia Governorate Latakia Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat al-Lādhiqīyah''), also transliterated as Ladhakia, is one of the 14 Governorates of Syria, governorates of Syria. It is situated in northwestern Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay Province to the no ...

. ISIS raids on FSA bases in Latakia had started in November 2013, with deaths occurring on both sides. Al-Jiburi killed a member of

Ahrar al-Sham Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya (), commonly referred to as Ahrar al-Sham, was a coalition of multiple Sunni Islamist units that coalesced into a single brigade and later a division in order to fight against the Syrian Government led by Bas ...

days later, and took numerous FSA members hostage.

Sayfullakh Shishani Ruslan Machalikashvili (?February 2014), commonly known by his ''nom de guerre'' Sayfullakh Shishani, was one of the Chechen mujahideen in Syria from 2012 until his death in February 2014. Life Shishani was born Ruslan Machalikashvili and took ...

found the bodies of the five FSA members near where they were kidnapped. Al Shishani and

Muslim Shishani Murat Akhmetovich Margoshvili (born 26 May 1972), also known as 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 and is one of the Chechen mujah ...

(who is reportedly his brother) worked to defuse tensions between al-Jiburi and the FSA through

shuttle diplomacy In diplomacy and international relations, shuttle diplomacy is the action of an outside party in serving as an intermediary between (or among) principals in a dispute, without direct principal-to-principal contact. Originally and usually, the proce ...

. Ultimately, a prisoner exchange was agreed upon.

Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was a Sunni Islamist political organisation and paramilitary group involved in the Syrian civil war. It was formed on 28January 2017 as a merger between several armed groups: Jaysh al-Ahrar (an Ahrar al-Sham facti ...

(HTS) sent a mediation committee in October 2021, which included members of the

Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria The Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria (TIP) was the Syrian branch of the Turkistan Islamic Party, an armed Uyghur Jihadist group with a presence in the Syrian Civil War. While the TIP has been active in Syria, the organization's core leadership ...

Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar Liwa al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (LMA, ), Brigade of Emigrants and Supporters or literally Banner of the Emigrants and Supporters), also known as Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (JMA or JAMWA, , Army of Emigrants and Supporters), formerly the Muhajire ...

Ajnad al-Kavkaz Ajnad al-Kavkaz (AK or AAK; ) is a Chechen-led Salafi jihadist militant group in northwestern Syria, operating primarily in the mountainous and forested areas of Latakia Governorate. Although it was formed by former fighters of the Caucasus Emi ...

and aid worker Muhammed Shakiel, to visit with Shishani and explain that he was not a target of the pending operation, which targeted Jundallah. He was reluctant to break his alliance with Jundallah, but eventually agreed to leave the area. Al Shishani reportedly allied himself with Jundallah and engaged in combat with HTS. He was held for eleven months by HTS and was released in September 2022.

References

{{reflist Leaders of jihadist groups Living people People of the Syrian civil war