Narrative
Narrative of the Organization's History
Narrative of the Organization's History
Leadership, Name Changes, Size Estimates, Resources, Geographic Locations
Ideology, Aims, Political Activities, Targets, and Tactics
First Attacks, Largest Attacks, Notable Attacks
Foreign Designations and Listings, Community Relations, Relations with Other Groups, State Sponsors and External Influences
Mapping relationships with other militant groups over time in regional maps
The Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade was an Islamic fundamentalist group which aimed to liberate Chechnya from Russian authority.[24] The group advocated armed resistance against the West, but it focused primarily on targeting the Russia Federation, and creating a unified Islamic emirate in the North Caucasus, ruled by shariah law.[25]
There are no recorded political activities for this group.
AQ trained members of the IIPB to execute suicide bombings, which quickly became one of the group’s main tactics for attacks. The IIPB has launched attacks and guerrilla operations on Russian forces, Chechen civilians, and pro-Russian Chechen forces. The organization also used kidnappings for ransom and hostage-taking to fight the Russian Federation.[26]
Disclaimer: These are some selected major attacks in the militant organization's history. It is not a comprehensive listing but captures some of the most famous attacks or turning points during the campaign.
August 1999: The IIPB led a force of North Caucasian and Arab mujahideen into Dagestan in an effort to establish an Islamic republic, a move that ultimately launched the Second Chechen-Russian War (unknown killed).[27]
October 23, 2002: The IIPB collaborated with Riyadus-Salikhin and the SPIR to attack Moscow's Dubrovka Theater. The groups held over 800 people hostage and threatened to kill them if the Russian Federation did not recognize Chechnya's independence. Russian security forces were able to free the hostages; however, around 130 hostages, all of the attackers, and SPIR leader Movsar Barayev were killed during the rescue attempt (170 killed, unknown wounded).[28]
The IIPB allegedly clashed with mainstream Chechen society, as its radical Salafi ideology conflicted with the moderate Sufi Islam followed by most Chechens.[32] In 1998, the Dagestani population rejected and fought to expel an intervening force composed of Chechen, Dagestani, and foreign militants, led by IIPB leaders Basayev and Khattab. The Dagestani people viewed the intervention as a territorial incursion by religious radicals, threatening their sovereignty.[33]
The Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade had a strong relationship with Al Qaeda (AQ). The group acted as a major channel for funding to Chechen separatist groups from AQ-linked Arabian financiers.[34] The leadership of the IIPB, alongside other North Caucasus Islamic groups, had numerous ties to AQ. The IIPB founder, Omar al-Khattab, was a member of AQ and allegedly met with Osama bin Laden while fighting in Afghanistan in the early 1990s. After an October 1999 meeting between bin Laden and IIPB emissaries loyal to Khattab and Basayev, bin Laden sent several hundred Arab militants to fight Russian forces in the North Caucasus. He also provided financial assistance to the militant groups to be used for training of gunmen, recruitment, and purchase of ammunition.[35] This relationship was allegedly reciprocal; Basayev and Khattab are reported to have sent groups of Chechen fighters to Afghanistan in 2001 to train and fight with AQ brigades. However, the extent of Chechen militants’ involvement in Arab conflicts has not been verified.[36] The IIPB and AQ allegedly also shared numerous fundraising and recruitment networks in the west.[37]
The Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade collaborated with other groups in the North Caucasus such as Riyadus-Salikhin, and the Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (SPIR) to launch and threaten attacks against civilians and government targets. These militant Islamic groups sought to obtain Chechen independence from the Russian Federation and the establishment of an Islamic state ruled by shariah law.[38] Riyadus-Salikhin allegedly drew many of its members and leaders from the ranks of the IIPB and the SPIR. Moreover, leaders from the IIPB and the SPIR collaborated from the interwar period.
Despite sharing the goal of achieving an independent Chechnya, the IIPB developed a conflictual relationship with the secessionist government of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CRI). Members of the moderate Chechen group rejected the Islamic fundamentalism of the IIPB. Moreover, CRI President Maskhadov sharply opposed the militant intervention in Dagestani as muddying the reputation of Caucasian Muslims.[39]
According to Kavkaz Center, an anti-Moscow website affiliated with North Caucasus militant groups, the IIPB and the SPIR were absorbed into the armed forces of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in 2003.[40] In 2007, former IIPB militants joined the Caucasus Emirate, the successor of the CRI, which unified the Islamic militants in the North Caucasus.
Al Qaeda sent financial assistance to the IIPB and other militant Islamic groups in the North Caucasus for training of gunmen, recruitment, and purchase of ammunition.[41] After an October 1999 meeting between bin Laden and IIPB emissaries loyal to Khattab and Basayev, bin Laden also sent several hundred Arab militants to fight Russian forces in the region. AQ supposedly also exercised significant tactical influence over the IIPB, as the IIPB launched several AQ-style suicide bombings and developed training camps for North Caucasian and foreign militants modeled after AQ camps in Afghanistan.[42]
[1] National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). (2016). Global Terrorism Database [Data file]. Retrieved from https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd; Ter, Marta. “The Caucasus Emirate, the Other Russian Front.” Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, Nov. 2015. Web. 07 Aug. 2018.
[2] Leung, Rebecca. “Terror In Moscow.” CBS News, 11 Feb. 2009. Web. 15 July 2012; “Islamic International Brigade (IIB).” UN Security Council, 07 Sept. 2010. Web. 07 Aug. 2018.
[3] “Chapter 2 – Europe and Eurasia Overview | Country Reports on Terrorism.” U.S. Department of State. 30 April 2017. Web. 08 Aug. 2018.
[4] National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). (2016). Global Terrorism Database [Data file]. Retrieved from https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd.
[5] Souleimanov, Emil. “Chechnya, Wahhabism and the Invasion of Dagestan.” Middle East Review of International Affairs, vol. 9, no. 4, Dec. 2005.
[6] Souleimanov, Emil. “Chechnya, Wahhabism and the Invasion of Dagestan.” Middle East Review of International Affairs, vol. 9, no. 4, Dec. 2005.
[7] Kullberg, Anssi. “The Background of Chechen Independence Movement V: The Dagestan Provocation.” The Eurasian Politician, 06 Oct. 2003. Web. 08 Aug. 2018.
[8] Leung, Rebecca. “Terror In Moscow.” CBS News, 11 Feb. 2009. Web. 15 July 2012.
[9] “Islamic International Brigade (IIB) | Narrative Summaries of Reasons for Listing.” U.N. Security Council, 07 Sept. 2010. Web. 08 Aug. 2018.
[10] Vidino, Lorenzo. “How Chechnya Became a Breeding Ground for Terror.” Middle East Quarterly, Summer 2005. Web. 20 June 2012.
[11] Abbas, Hassan. “State Department Blacklists Three Chechen Groups.” The Jamestown Foundation, 2003. Web. 06 Aug. 2018; Kemoklidze, Nino, et al. “Many Faces of the Caucasus.” Europe-Asia Studies, vol. 64, no. 9, Nov. 2012; Bale, Jeffrey. “The Chechen Resistance and Radiological Terrorism.” Nuclear Threat Initiative, 01 April 2004. Web. 31 May 2012.
[12] Souleimanov, Emil. “Chechnya, Wahhabism and the Invasion of Dagestan.” Middle East Review of International Affairs, vol. 9, no. 4, Dec. 2005.
[13] Vidino, Lorenzo. “How Chechnya Became a Breeding Ground for Terror.” Middle East Quarterly, Summer 2005. Web. 20 June 2012.
[14] Vidino, Lorenzo. “How Chechnya Became a Breeding Ground for Terror.” Middle East Quarterly, Summer 2005. Web. 20 June 2012.
[15] Souleimanov, Emil. “Chechnya, Wahhabism and the Invasion of Dagestan.” Middle East Review of International Affairs, vol. 9, no. 4, Dec. 2005.
[16] Patterns of Global Terrorism 2003. U.S. Department of State, April 2004.
[17] Vidino, Lorenzo. “How Chechnya Became a Breeding Ground for Terror.” Middle East Quarterly, Summer 2005. Web. 20 June 2012.
[18] Vidino, Lorenzo. “How Chechnya Became a Breeding Ground for Terror.” Middle East Quarterly, Summer 2005. Web. 20 June 2012.
[19] Roggio, Bill. “Russian forces kill al Qaeda’s envoy to the Islamic Caucasus Emirate.” The Long War Journal, 22 April 2011. Web. 08 Aug. 2018.
[20] “Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade | Country Reports on Terrorism 2005.” US Department of State, April 30, 2006. Web. 08 Aug. 2018.
[21] “Islamic International Brigade (IIB) | Narrative Summaries of Reasons for Listing.” U.N. Security Council, 07 Sept. 2010. Web. 08 Aug. 2018.
[22] Vidino, Lorenzo. “How Chechnya Became a Breeding Ground for Terror.” Middle East Quarterly, Summer 2005. Web. 20 June 2012.
[23] “Appendix C: Background Information on Terrorist Groups.” U.S. State Department, 2003. Web. 30 June 2012.
[24] “Chapter 2 – Europe and Eurasia Overview | Country Reports on Terrorism.” U.S. Department of State. 30 April 2017. Web. 08 Aug. 2018.
[25] “Appendix C: Background Information on Terrorist Groups.” U.S. State Department, 2003. Web. 30 June 2012.
[26] Vidino, Lorenzo. “How Chechnya Became a Breeding Ground for Terror.” Middle East Quarterly, Summer 2005. Web. 20 June 2012.
[27] National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). (2016). Global Terrorism Database [Data file]. Retrieved from https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd; Ter, Marta. “The Caucasus Emirate, the Other Russian Front.” Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, Nov. 2015. Web. 07 Aug. 2018.
[28] Leung, Rebecca. “Terror In Moscow.” CBS News, 11 Feb. 2009. Web. 15 July 2012; “Islamic International Brigade (IIB).” UN Security Council, 07 Sept. 2010. Web. 07 Aug. 2018.
[29] “Islamic International Brigade (IIB).” UN Security Council, 07 Sept. 2010. Web. 07 Aug. 2018.
[30] Abbas, Hassan. “State Department Blacklists Three Chechen Groups.” The Jamestown Foundation, 2003. Web. 06 Aug. 2018.
[31] “Terrorist Exclusion List.” U.S. Department of State, 29 Dec. 2004. Web. 25 July 2012.
[32] “In the Spotlight: The Special Purpose Islamic Regiment.” Center for Defense Information, 02 May 2003. Web. 06 Aug. 2018.
[33] Souleimanov, Emil. “Chechnya, Wahhabism and the Invasion of Dagestan.” Middle East Review of International Affairs, vol. 9, no. 4, Dec. 2005.
[34] “Chapter 2 – Europe and Eurasia Overview | Country Reports on Terrorism.” U.S. Department of State. 30 April 2017. Web. 08 Aug. 2018.
[35] “Islamic International Brigade (IIB) | Narrative Summaries of Reasons for Listing.” U.N. Security Council, 07 Sept. 2010. Web. 08 Aug. 2018.
[36] Abbas, Hassan. “State Department Blacklists Three Chechen Groups.” The Jamestown Foundation, 2003. Web. 06 Aug. 2018.
[37] “Profile: Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade.” History Commons, n.d. Web. 08 Aug. 2018.
[38] Bhattacharji, Preeti. “Chechen Terrorism (Russia, Chechnya, Separatist).” Council on Foreign Relations, 08 Apr. 2010. Web. 15 May 2012; “Islamic International Brigade (IIB) | Narrative Summaries of Reasons for Listing.” U.N. Security Council, 07 Sept. 2010. Web. 08 Aug. 2018.
[39] Ter, Marta. “The Caucasus Emirate, the Other Russian Front.” Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, Nov. 2015. Web. 07 Aug. 2018.
[40] Abbas, Hassan. “State Department Blacklists Three Chechen Groups.” The Jamestown Foundation, 2003. Web. 06 Aug. 2018; Kemoklidze, Nino, et al. “Many Faces of the Caucasus.” Europe-Asia Studies, vol. 64, no. 9, Nov. 2012; Bale, Jeffrey. “The Chechen Resistance and Radiological Terrorism.” Nuclear Threat Initiative, 01 April 2004. Web. 31 May 2012.
[41] “Islamic International Brigade (IIB) | Narrative Summaries of Reasons for Listing.” U.N. Security Council, 07 Sept. 2010. Web. 08 Aug. 2018.
[42] Souleimanov, Emil. “Chechnya, Wahhabism and the Invasion of Dagestan.” Middle East Review of International Affairs, vol. 9, no. 4, Dec. 2005; Kemoklidze, Nino, et al. “Many Faces of the Caucasus.” Europe-Asia Studies, vol. 64, no. 9, Nov. 2012.