Anzor Astemirov

Anzor Astemirov
Anzor Astemirov
	Anzor Astemirov in 2006
Native name	Анзор Астемиров
Nickname(s)	Sayfullah (Seifullah)
Born	3 December 1976; Kremenchuk, Ukrainian SSR
Died	24 March 2010 (aged 33); Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria
Allegiance	Caucasian Front; Caucasus Emirate
Commands held	United Vilayat of Kabarda, Balkaria and Karachay ; Supreme Qadi of the Shariah Court
Battles/wars	First Chechen War; Second Chechen War; North Caucasus Insurgency;

Anzor Astemirov (Russian: Анзор Астемиров, 3 December 1976 – 24 March 2010), also known as Emir Sayfullah (Sword of God), was an Islamist leader of a terrorist group in the Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, in the North Caucasus.

For several years, Astemirov headed the local terrorist group Yarmuk Jamaat, eventually becoming the main ideologist of the pan-Islamist militant organization Caucasus Emirate, as well as its wali (governor) of Kabardino-Balkaria.^[1] His key position as the Emirate's chief Sharia Islamic law qadi (judge) made him the third in Caucasian insurgent hierarchy, after Dokka Umarov and his military deputy Akhmed Yevloyev. The law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation put him on federal and international wanted lists for murder, terrorist attacks, armed trafficking and several other crimes and offered a reward of 3 million rubles ($117,354) for information that would lead to his capture. He was killed in a gunfight with Russian security forces in March 2010.^[2]^[3]

^ Moore, Cerwyn (27 May 2015). "Foreign Bodies: Transnational Activism, the Insurgency in the North Caucasus and "Beyond"" (PDF). Terrorism and Political Violence. 27 (3): 395–415. doi:10.1080/09546553.2015.1032035. ISSN 0954-6553. S2CID 56451099.
^ Cite error: The named reference killed was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference news was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1] Moore, Cerwyn (27 May 2015). "Foreign Bodies: Transnational Activism, the Insurgency in the North Caucasus and "Beyond"" (PDF). Terrorism and Political Violence. 27 (3): 395–415. doi:10.1080/09546553.2015.1032035. ISSN 0954-6553. S2CID 56451099.

[killed-2] Cite error: The named reference killed was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[news-3] Cite error: The named reference news was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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