Dagestan Caucuses Leader Denounces Defectors To ISIS

In a new video from the Islamic Caucuses Emirate leader in Dagestan, Said Arakanskiy denounced fighters who left to join ISIS. Vilayat Dagestan’s official web site published the 2 minute and 30 second video. 


Here is a translation of the statement made by Arakanskiy:

“I, emir of Vilayat Dagestan of the Caucasus Emirate, pledge allegiance to our emir Sheikh Abu Mukhammad [al Dagestani], may God protect him, [and I swear] that I will obey him and follow him in trouble and joy whether I like it or not, as long as he follows Koran and the Sunnah [the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed],” Arakanskiy says, according to a translation obtained by The Long War Journal.

Arakanskiy continues by addressing the “mujahideen brothers who have renounced their allegiance to” Ali Abu Mukhammad al Dagestani and “sworn allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi,” the leader of the Islamic State. He argues that these defectors “should not split the ranks of mujahideen because it makes non-believers happy and weakens jihad.” Not only do they no longer follow Dagestani, they have abandoned the “scholars of jihad,” Arakanskiy says.