When I was doing my initial research on the Chechen War a few years ago, I came across an interesting autobiography about an American mercenary named Aukai Collins who packed up his things and traveled to Chechnya to take up arms against the Russians.  I must admit, it was one of the most interesting and captivating true stories I’ve read about the war or any war in quite some time.    From intense firefights, to finding a Chechen girl whom he marries to opting to have his leg removed so he could have better mobility in future fights, Aukai Collins proves himself to be quite an interesting fellow.  We follow him trying to sneak his way into the country by attaching himself to some dangerous characters in the bordering country of Azerbaijan, hooking up with the resistance in Grozny and trekking across Chechnya fighting the Russians along the way.

The story takes the turn toward the fantastical when he admits to being approached by the FBI once back in the USA, and the book turns into some sort of spy tale.  He even mentions meeting Hani Hanjour in a CIA training camp inside the USA, which begs the question, was more or one of the 9/11 hijackers really CIA assets?  All amazing stories that are hard to verify without talking to Aukai, who incidentally has a bounty on his head from the Russian government at this point.  Inevitably, pre 9/11 his story is harrowing and he seems like a true hero defending his people’s struggle; post 9/11 through no fault of his own, he is lumped in with the murderous sect of radical muslim terrorists.  He says as much in his book that he himself laments this fact that his religion is used to murder civilians and for the most part I am inclined to believe that he is more of a defender of all civilians and not a terrorist.  Before 2001, the term JIHAD would not be associated with the greatest threat America has ever had, in fact the American CIA were helping the Jihadists fight the Russians in Afghanistan, Chechnya, and other countries where they needed assistance clandestinely.  9/11 changed the meaning of Jihad and now it is seen as a rally cry of our greatest and most elusive enemies.

The book leaves Aukai stuck in a Mexican prison and for the best of my knowledge that’s where he still is.  My attempts to try and contact the co-author of this book to find out what exactly happened to Aukai met with no response from him.  So, verifying this story was completely impossible. But, I’m inclined to believe most if not all of it and to a large degree Aukai has gained my respect as a human being and soldier more than anything, religious beliefs and allegiances aside.

Read a preview of MY JIHAD here

Very interesting report on the conflict in Ingushetia, neighbor of Chechnya, which by this account is turning into just a threat for Russian federation forces as Chechnya was in the recent past. We follow Maksharip Aushev in his describing of the situation in his country as insurgents Russian forces for independence. He tells the story of his own son being rounded up off of a train by Russian intelligence for choosing not to become an informant. He goes on to report that this is a common occurrence in Ingushetia. He organized a rally in protest of these extra-judicial kidnappings and the men were freed, only to find himself in prison for six months.

This video shows a lot of insurgent footage of both Chechen and Ingush mujahideen fighters taking up arms both in Chechnya and Ingushetia against the Russians. In all, a good video that shows how the Chechen War has spilled over into bordering states of the Russian Federation, a clear sign that the conflict is far from over and more Muslim and non muslims are willing to continue the struggle at any cost.

Once again I can only infer much of what is going on in this video from the title we are provided by whoever uploaded it. All we can see is Chechen Rebels, some very Arabic looking, are praying in white BDU’s to camoflauge them in the snow, before they sneak up on Russian security forces position and start a firefight. We do not see much in terms of effectiveness of this attack, just the Rebels firing on non visible targets to the camera. It ends with them pulling back with what seems like no casualties whatsover.

Movsar Buharovich Barayev (Russian: Мовсар Бухарович Бараев) (October 26, 1979 - October 26, 2002), earlier known as Suleimanov, was a Chechen terrorist and militia leader during the Second Chechen War, who led the seizure of a Moscow theater that led to the deaths of over 170 people.

Movsar Barayev, born 1979, was the nephew of the notorious Chechen warlord Arbi Barayev who allegedly worked under FSB guidance.^[1] After his uncle’s death in June 2001 until his own, Movsar was the leader of a Chechen terrorist militia known as the Special Purpose Islamic Brigade (SPIR).^[2] Barayev junior was said to be a sworn enemy of the Chechen leader and elected president, Aslan Maskhadov.^[3] He used the nom-de-guerre of “Yassir”.

He was falsely announced by the command of the Russian forces in Chechnya to have been killed on August 21, 2001, and again on October 12, 2002, eleven days prior to the Moscow theater crisis (this report of Barayev’s death came from Colonel Boris Podoprigora, deputy commander of Russia’s Joint Group Forces).^[4] It was also claimed that two months before the hostage-taking, the Russian GRU military intelligence had arrested Barayev and contained him “until his release had provided leads to the hostage taking at the Dubrovka theatre.”^[5]

Death

On October 23, 2002, Barayev and a mysterious man known as “Abu Bakar” led a group of some forty SPIR militants and their family members (who had dubbed themselves “the suicide squad from the 29th Division”) to seize the theater in the Russian capital Moscow, demanding negotiations with Russian authorities for an end to the second war in Chechnya, withdrawal of Russian forces and Chechen independence,^[6] threatening to execute his hostages.

Movsar Barayev was killed on the third day of the crisis, when the Russian FSB special forces launched a chemical attack and stormed the theater. The day when he died was his 23rd birthday.

Barayev’s bloodied corpse was shown by the Russian TV lying on the ground of the theater amidst broken glass with the intact bottle of cognac near his hand. Later, the Russian authorities said his body was secretly buried in an undisclosed location.