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Abu Omar al-Shishani

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Tarkhan Batirashvili
თარხან ბათირაშვილი
File:Abu Omar al-Shishani.jpg
Born1986 (age 37–38)[1]
Birkiani, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union[2]
(now Georgia)
Allegiance Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
(November 2013[3][4] – present)
Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (2013)
Muhajireen Brigade (2012-2013)
Georgia (country) Georgian Armed Forces (2006-2010)
CommandsNorthern Sector, Syria
Battles/warsSecond Chechen War
Russo-Georgian War
Syrian Civil War
2014 Northern Iraq offensive

Tarkhan Batirashvili (Georgian: თარხან ბათირაშვილი, born 1986), more commonly known by his nom de guerre Abu Omar al-Shishani or Omar al-Shishani (Arabic: أبو عمر الشيشاني, meaning "Omar the Chechen"),[5] is a Georgian jihadist. A former Georgian Army soldier and veteran of the Russo-Georgian War, he has served in various command positions with Islamist militant groups fighting in the Syrian civil war. He currently serves as a commander in the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Syria,[5] and was previously the leader of the rebel group Katibat al-Muhajireen (Emigrants Brigade), also known as the Muhajireen Brigade, and its successor, Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (Army of Emigrants and Supporters). Batirashvili was named commander of the northern sector of Syria by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) in the summer of 2013.[2][3] Units under his command have participated in major assaults on Syrian military bases in and around Aleppo, including the capture of Menagh Airbase in August 2013.[2] He is considered "one of the most influential military leaders of the Syrian opposition forces".[1][5] It has been speculated that he may have become the military chief for ISIS following the death of Abu Abdul-Rahman al-Bilawi al-Anbari in Mosul in June 2014.[6]

Early life and military service

Tarkhan Batirashvili was born in the Georgian SSR of the Soviet Union (now the Republic of Georgia) in 1986. His father, Teimuraz Batirashvili, is an ethnic Georgian and Orthodox Christian, belongs to the Georgian gvari Batirashvili. His mother was a Kist (an ethnic Chechen subgroup from the Pankisi Gorge) and a Muslim, and belonged to the Melkhi clan.[7][1][8]

Batirashvili grew up in the village of Birkiani, located in Georgia's Pankisi Gorge region. In his youth, he worked as a shepherd in the hills above the gorge. At the time, the Pankisi Gorge was a major transit point for rebels participating in the Second Chechen War, and it was there that Batirashvili reportedly came into contact with Chechen rebels moving into Russia.[9] According to his father, a young Batirashvili secretly helped Chechen militants into Russia and sometimes joined them on missions against Russian-backed troops.[2]

After finishing high school, Batirashvili joined the Georgian Army and distinguished himself as master of various weaponry and maps, according to his former commander Malkhaz Topuria, who recruited him into a special reconnaissance group.[2] He rose to the rank of sergeant in a newly formed intelligence unit, and during the 2008 Russo-Georgian War he served near the front line, spying on Russian tank columns and relaying their coordinates to Georgian artillery units.[2]

Batirashvili was never decorated for his military service.[1] He was due to be promoted to become an officer, but in 2010 he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. After spending several months in a military hospital, he was discharged on medical grounds. He tried and failed to re-enlist.[9][2] Upon returning home, he was unable to secure work in the local police force. Around this time, his mother also died of cancer. According to his father, he became "very disillusioned".[2]

Militant activity

According to the Georgian Defense Ministry, Batirashvili was arrested in September 2010 for illegally harboring weapons and was sentenced to three years in prison.[2] He was allegedly released after serving about 16 months in early 2012 and immediately left the country. According to an interview on a jihadist website, Batirashvili said that prison transformed him; "I promised God that if I come out of prison alive, I'll go fight jihad for the sake of God", he said.[2]

Batirashvili reportedly told his father that he was leaving for Istanbul, where members of the Chechen diaspora were ready to recruit him to lead fighters inside war-ravaged Syria; an older brother had already gone to Syria some months before.[2] In an interview, Batirashvili said that he had considered going to Yemen and briefly lived in Egypt before ultimately arriving in Syria in March 2012.[10][11]

The emblem of Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar

His first command was the Muhajireen Brigade, an Islamist jihadist group made up of foreign fighters that was formed in the summer of 2012. His unit became involved in the Battle of Aleppo, and in October 2012 they assisted the Al-Nusra Front in a raid on an air defense and Scud missile base in Aleppo.[12]

In December 2012, they fought alongside Al-Nusra Front during the overrunning of the Sheikh Suleiman Army base in Western Aleppo. In February 2013, together with the Tawhid Brigades and Al-Nusra Front, they stormed the base of the Syrian military's 80th Regiment near the main airport in Aleppo.[13]

In March 2013, the Kavkaz Center reported that the Muhajireen Brigade had merged with two Syrian jihadist groups called Jaish Muhammad and Kataeb Khattab to form a new group called Jaish Muhajireen wal-Ansar, or Army of Emigrants and Helpers.[14] The group's leadership structure consists of a military leadership, a sharia committee, a shura council and a media arm, Liwa al-Mujahideen al-Ilami. The latter is the same name as a media group established by foreign mujahideen fighting in the Bosnian war.[15]

The group played a key role in the August 2013 capture of Menagh Air Base, which culminated in a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) driven by two of their members killing and wounding many of the last remaining Syrian Armed Forces defenders.[16] A branch of the Muhajireen Brigade was involved in the 2013 Latakia offensive.[17]

In August 2013, Batirashvili released a statement announcing the expulsion of one of his commanders, Emir Seyfullah, and 27 of his men from the group. Batirashvili accused the men of embezzlement and stirring up the animosity of local Syrians against the foreign fighters by indulging in takfir—excommunication—against other Muslims.[18] However, Seyfullah denied these allegations in a statement and claimed that it was because he had refused to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant with Batirashvili.[19]

In late 2013, Batirashvili was replaced as leader of Jaish al-Muhajireen wala-Ansar by another Chechen commander known as Salahuddin, as most of the Chechen members of the group did not support Batirashvili's oath of allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant[1] in November due to their preexisting oath to Dokka Umarov, leader of the Caucasus Emirate.[4]

According to Batirashvili's father, he called him once since he left for Syria to tell him that he was now married to a Chechen woman and had a daughter named Sophia.[7] For a time, Batirashvili lived with his family in a large villa owned by a businessman in the town of Huraytan just northwest of Aleppo.[20]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Syria crisis: Omar Shishani, Chechen jihadist leader". BBC News Middle East. 3 December 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cullison, Alan (19 November 2013). "Meet the Rebel Commander in Syria That Assad, Russia and the U.S. All Fear". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 11 July 2014.(subscription required) See also at https://www.google.co.uk/#q=meet+the+rebel+commander
  3. ^ a b "The Syrian rebel groups pulling in foreign fighters". BBC News. 24 December 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Chechen-led group swears allegiance to head of Islamic State of Iraq and Sham". The Long War Journal. 27 November 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  5. ^ a b c Mroue, Bassem (2 July 2014). "Chechen in Syria a rising star in extremist group". Associated Press. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  6. ^ McClam, Erin (2014-07-02). "Rising Star of ISIS Has Chechen Background and Fierce Reputation". NBC News. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  7. ^ a b Akhmeteli, Nina (9 July 2014). "The Georgian roots of Isis commander Omar al-Shishani". BBC News. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  8. ^ "Father fighting in Iraq, the red-bearded "Chechen" told me that he really - Georgians". newsru.com. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  9. ^ a b 'Omar The Chechen' Should Come Home, Says Dad
  10. ^ "Chechen jihadists in Syria: The case of Omar al-Shishani". Al Akhbar English. 2014-05-01. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  11. ^ "Syrie. Témoignage d'Omar le Tchétchène, chef militaire de l'Etat islamique". Le Monde. 4 December 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  12. ^ "Al Nusrah Front commanded Free Syrian Army Unit, 'Chechen emigrants,' in assault on Syrian air defense base". The Long War Journal. 19 October 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ Roggio, Bill (20 February 2013). "Chechen commander leads Muhajireen Brigade in Syria". The Long War Journal. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  14. ^ Roggio, Bill (28 March 2013). "Chechen commander forms 'Army of Emigrants,' integrates Syrian groups". The Long War Journal. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ al-Shishani, Murad Batal (19 August 2013). ""Obliged to Unite under One Banner": A Profile of Syria's Jaysh al-Muhajireen wa'l-Ansar". Terrorism Monitor. 11 (8). Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  16. ^ Ann Barnard, Hwaida Saad (5 August 2013). "Rebels Gain Control of Government Air Base in Syria". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  17. ^ Leigh, Karen (5 August 2013). "Decoder: The Battle for Syria Begins". Syria Deeply. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  18. ^ Vatchagaev, Mairbek (9 August 2013). "Influence of Chechen Leader of North Caucasian Fighters in Syria Grows". Eurasia Daily Monitor. 10 (148). Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  19. ^ Paraszczuk, Joanna (23 November 2013). "Syria Spotlight: Insurgent Split — The Dispute Between Abu Umar al-Shishani & His Deputy, Seyfullakh the Chechen". EA WorldView. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  20. ^ "'Chechen' and 'Alhomnyh' ... the story of 'jihad' was found paradise in Aleppo". alkhabar-ts.com (in Arabic - translation available). Retrieved 12 July 2014.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)

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