Murder in Istanbul: Kremlin's hand suspected in shooting of al-Qaeda-Syria-Ukraine Chechen

theguardian.com ^ | Sunday 10 January 2016 10.51 EST | Shaun Walker

[Trumpinator]

Murder in Istanbul: Kremlin's hand suspected in shooting of Chechen

The shooting in broad daylight of Abdulvakhid Edelgireyev – a key Chechen Islamist figure who fought with an al-Qaida affiliate in Syria – is the latest in a series of audacious killings of enemies of the Russian state in the Turkish city

...He survived the battlefields of Syria, and those of east Ukraine. But in November his life came to an abrupt end in a flurry of bullets: he was shot dead in broad daylight in Istanbul as he embarked on a shopping trip with his three-year-old niece.

Edelgireyev and his niece walked out of their apartment block in Kayasehir, a far-flung suburb of nondescript new towers, shortly before 2pm on 1 November. The 32-year-old Chechen sat the girl in the passenger seat of his car, and was about to start the engine when a white car rammed into them from behind, closing him in. Pushing his niece on to the floor under the seat, Edelgireyev scrambled out and started running. One of the assassins gave chase, firing at him, and he crumpled to the ground. When paramedics arrived a few minutes later he was already dead, in a pool of blood. He had been shot five times.

The dead man’s biography, as set out by family and associates, paints a picture of a key figure in the Caucasus Emirate, the umbrella group of Chechen and other fighters in Russia’s North Caucasus that has resorted to terrorist methods, including suicide attacks on Moscow’s metro and Domodedovo airport. Edelgireyev’s experiences during his year in Syria also revealed how the Chechen resistance fight has slowly grown links to Islamic State , and the infighting and turmoil among the foreign fighters in Syria.

[Trumpinator]

McCain must be saddened a West Ukrainian/Free Syrian Army Chechen freedom fighter was killed by Putin.

[stocksthatgoup]

Quite a trophy

[Professional]

No comment

[rjsimmon]

The shooting in broad daylight of Abdulvakhid Edelgireyev (a key Chechen Islamist figure who fought with an al-Qaida affiliate in Syria) is the latest in a series of audacious killings of enemies of the Russian state in the Turkish city

They say that like it's a bad thing.

[PGR88]

Abdulvakhid Edelgireyev

Say that 10 times fast. His unpronounceable name alone is a crime against humanity.

[MUDDOG]

From Russia With Love.

[2banana]

Terrorize the terrorists.

Read 2banana’s thoughts on the subject:

http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/defeating-the-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-gang-a-realistic-strategy#comment-50846

[Trumpinator]

Moscow has preferred the clinical removal of key figures rather than angry public rhetoric

[Trumpinator]

To certain special interest groups here in the West, it is a bad thing.

[elpadre]

are we supposed to blame Russia for this??

I suspect he has plenty of Russian blood on his hands.

[PAR35]

So the lefties are now admitting their puppet government in the Ukraine is sheltering Islamic terrorists:

“All Istanbul’s Chechens involved in the Caucasus Emirate now live in fear of attack. One who recently left Istanbul for Ukraine...”

[Trumpinator]

"The source in Ukraine said that until a year ago, recruiters for Isis and other rebel groups would solicit Chechens in Istanbul quite openly, although they have now moved more underground."

[SgtHooper]

He was just turning his life around.

[McGruff]

Bummer

[Grampa Dave]

Thanks for the best news so far on this Monday!

[pgkdan]

The shooting in broad daylight of Abdulvakhid Edelgireyev, a key Chechen Islamist figure who fought with an al-Qaida affiliate in Syria, is the latest in a series of audacious killings of enemies of the Russian state in the Turkish city

So. What's the problem?

[oncebitten]

The tone off the Guardian article is oddly neutral as if they were talking about a lawyer rather than a terrorist murderer. I guess if you play with the bull/bear sometimes you get the horns/claws.

[Trumpinator]

To me these are small hints that many of the editorial offices of Western press rooms on the left and the right (Guardian is leftist and also calls for military intervention against Assad, for example) are in bed with the Military Industrial complex (or whatever this foreign policy group think could be called).

[Lurker]

Well done. Well done indeed.

L

[Mr Radical]

As leftist (shouldn't that be, far left?) The Grauniad is not on my regular reading list, so thanks for this interesting report.
The article appears to confirm that the new Ukrainian gov has been using Chechen Islamist mercenaries - something they have denied often while accusing the other side of doing so.
One aspect struck me - would you let an uncle like this man take your 3-year-old daugther out alone with him?