Alleged Chechen Mastermind of Istanbul Airport Attack Unpopular Within Chechen Diaspora (Mairbek Vatchagaev, The Jamestown Foundation)

From the start of the conflict in Syria, access to the conflict zone has only been possible from the Turkish side. The militants’ dependence on Turkey forced them to avoid spoiling relations with the Turkish government. Even if Ankara did not help the militants in Syria, at least it allowed non-state actors to help the Middle Eastern insurgents. However, since 2014, the West has increasingly criticized Turkish authorities for keeping the border with Syria open, which forced Ankara to tighten controls. To say that the Turkish government has sealed off the border would not do justice to the actual situation there, but some government controls have been introduced.

http://www.jamestown.org/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=45601&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=7&cHash=e51b91baa9fd2209b3939f25958a75e5#.V3-hutKLTIU

Yevkurov Tries to Paper Over Ingushetia’s Sufi-Salafist Rift (Mairbek Vatchagaev, The Jamestown Foundation)

http://www.jamestown.org/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=45565&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=7&cHash=efab30da350aaf420531688431b92bbe#.V3aLddKLTIU

In New Video, Georgian-Born Muslim al-Shishani Discusses Russian Presence in Syria (Mairbek Vatchagaev, The Jamestown Foundation)

Muslim al-Shishani is the nom de guerre of Murad Margoshvili, commander of the Junud al-Sham (“Soldiers of Syria”) insurgent group operating in Syria. Margoshivili is a Georgian national, but he is also an ethnic Kist, a member of the Chechen sub-ethnic group that lives in Georgia’s Pankisi Gorge. Margoshvili went to Syria to help the rebels in 2012, establishing Jund al-Sham. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) accuses Margoshvili of many crimes, including participation in illegal armed groups and attacks on government forces. The US State Department has put Margoshvili on its list of individuals designated as foreign terrorists or terrorist facilitators and subject to sanctions (State.gov, September 24, 2014)

http://www.jamestown.org/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=45455&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=7&cHash=50cf952b89fef3199c694276c4066908#.V0RdJDWLTIU

Salafists Join Ingushetia’s Government in Opposing Republican Mufti (Mairbek Vatchagaev, The Jamestown Foundation)

http://www.jamestown.org/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=45005&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=7&cHash=a92096798c2d97493df7f3326ebbf2c5#.VqI1nZrhDIU