Rusi v Siriji

Citat:
Four years ago, Saadu Sharapudinov was a wanted man in Russia. A member of an outlawed Islamist group, he was hiding in the forests of the North Caucasus, dodging patrols by paramilitary police and plotting a holy war against Moscow.

Then his fortunes took a dramatic turn. Sharapudinov, 38, told Reuters that in December 2012 Russian intelligence officers presented him with an unexpected offer. If he agreed to leave Russia, the authorities would not arrest him. In fact, they would facilitate his departure.

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Sharapudinov agreed to go. A few months later, he was given a new passport in a new name, and a one-way plane ticket to Istanbul. Shortly after arriving in Turkey, he crossed into Syria and joined an Islamist group that would later pledge allegiance to radical Sunni group Islamic State.

Reuters has identified five other Russian radicals who, relatives and local officials say, also left Russia with direct or indirect help from the authorities and ended up in Syria. The departures followed a pattern, said Sharapudinov, relatives of the Islamists and former and acting officials: Moscow wanted to eradicate the risk of domestic terror attacks, so intelligence and police officials turned a blind eye to Islamic militants leaving the country. Some sources say officials even encouraged militants to leave.

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The cases indicate the scheme ramped up ahead of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics because the Russian authorities feared homegrown militants would try to attack the event.

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The initial approach to Sharapudinov came from a political official in the militant’s home village of Novosasitli in Dagestan, a region in the North Caucasus (see map). The official, who has since retired, became the liaison between Sharapudinov and Russian security services. He confirmed Sharapudinov’s account to Reuters.

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"They said: ‘Go wherever you want, you can even go fight in Syria,’" Sharapudinov told Reuters in December. He recalled that the Olympics came up in the negotiations. “They said something like, ‘to let the Olympics pass without incidents.’ They didn’t conceal they were sending out others as well,” he said.

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Other radicals allowed to leave Russia

Temur Djamalutdinov

The following month, Djamalutdinov was put on a police list of Wahhabis. He was subject to regular police checks, his family said.

Yet two weeks later, he managed to leave the country with a freshly issued passport, his brother said.

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In late December 2015, Arsen said, fellow radicals messaged him from Syria and told him that Djamalutdinov had been killed near Kobani, close to the Turkish border, around the same time another Russian militant, Magomed Rabadanov, died there.



Uvais Sharapudinov and Akhmed Dengayev

The former official said Dengayev and Uvais Sharapudinov (no relation to Saadu) agreed a deal with the local FSB to stop fighting in exchange for avoiding arrest and shortly afterwards decided to leave Russia.

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Uvais Sharapudinov was injured during fighting over the border town of Kobani and died in a hospital on the Turkish side of the border, according to several acquaintances.

Dengayev left Syria before his rebel group joined Islamic State and returned to Russia, according to friends and relatives. He was sentenced to jail under a law that bans Russians from engaging in fighting abroad that is against Russia's interests.



Akhmed Aligadjiev

Aligadjiev’s father, Magomed, said his son was put on a terrorist wanted list but in 2008 was offered a deal by the authorities. He said Aligadjiev and three other militants were allowed to get international passports and to fly out of Russia to wherever they wanted. They chose Syria.

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The village head in Gimry, Aliashab Magomedov, confirmed Aligadjiev was sent abroad by authorities in exchange for surrendering.

Klikni za razširitev

Citat:
A strategically significant Syrian airbase, used by Russia, appears to have been almost completely destroyed - according to new satellite imagery exclusively seen by the BBC.

The Tiyas facility - near the recently re-captured city of Palmyra in Syria - was repeatedly hit - with the so-called Islamic State presumed to be behind the attack.

Four Russia combat helicopters and around 20 supply trucks were destroyed in the bombardment. It is not clear if any people died.

Klikni za razširitev

Citat:
According to the spokesman, "the rumors about the destruction of a group of Russian helicopters and two dozen trucks were created by the propagandists of the ISIL [the former name of the Islamic State terrorist organization outlawed in Russia] who unsuccessfully tried to ‘sell’ this alleged piece of news about ten days ago."

"As for the photos of the Syrian airbase, the burnt aircraft and motor vehicles, as well as numerous craters created by reactive shell explosions have been present there for more than one month. This is the result of fierce fighting for this aerodrome between the Syrian government troops and militants of terrorist groupings," the general said.

"To put aside all the lyrics and speak directly, then, apparently, the spread of such information is ‘the fair share of contribution’ by our partners in the struggle against international terrorism," the Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said.

Klikni za razširitev