The Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade (; IIPB), also known as the Islamic International Brigade and the Islamic Peacekeeping Army, was the name of an international Islamist

mujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' (), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' (), an Arabic term that broadly refers to people who engage in ''jihad'' (), interpreted in a jurisprudence of Islam as the fight on behalf of God, religion or the commun ...

organization founded in 1998. IIPB was designated a terrorist entity by the United States in February 2003.

History

The unit was composed of between 400 and 1,500 militants, most of them

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; ; ), officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Fede ...

is (mainly Avars and Darginians), as well as

Chechens The Chechens ( ; , , Old Chechen: Нахчой, ''Naxçoy''), historically also known as ''Kistin, Kisti'' and ''Durdzuks'', are a Northeast Caucasian languages, Northeast Caucasian ethnic group of the Nakh peoples native to the North Caucasus. ...

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic lang ...

and other foreign fighters. Its

Emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

s were Ibn al-Khattab,

Shamil Basayev Shamil Salmanovich Basayev (; ; 14 January 1965 – 10 July 2006), also known by his '' kunya'' Abu Idris, was a Chechen guerrilla leader who served as a senior military commander in the breakaway Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. He held the rank ...

who fought during the

War in Dagestan The 1999 war in Dagestan, also known as the Dagestan incursions (), was an armed conflict that began when the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Chechen-based Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade (IIPB), an Islamism, Islamist group led by Shamil ...

. Many of the group's members were killed or captured by Russian forces. They gained notoriety during their involvement in the

Tukhchar massacre The Tukhchar massacre () was an incident during the War in Dagestan which was filmed and distributed on tape, in which Russian prisoners of war were executed. Throughout the battle, Russian soldiers reported finding taped executions of Russian ...

where they executed six Russian

POWs A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

on tape, all of which were members of the Russian Interior Troops. Most of its remaining members fought in the

Second Chechen War Names The Second Chechen War is also known as the Second Chechen Campaign () or the Second Russian Invasion of Chechnya from the Chechens, Chechen insurgents' point of view.Федеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 19 ...

, in which its former leaders died (Khattab in March 2002 and Basayev in July 2006).

References

{{Chechen wars Jihadist groups Organizations established in 1998 Defunct organizations designated as terrorist Organizations designated as terrorist by Bahrain Organizations designated as terrorist by Iraq Islamic terrorism in Russia Moscow theater hostage crisis Second Chechen War Defunct Islamic organizations Pan-Islamism Organizations disestablished in 2002 Islamic organizations established in 1998 War in Dagestan (1999)