[IBT] Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said that the IS was merely "bluffing" when it announced the creation of its first wilayat, or governorate, in the Northern Caucasus on June 22.Aslan Byutukayev, the leader of the Gardens of the Righteous, a suicide bomber battalion, declared his loyalty to IS commander-in-chief Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi saying, "We need to hurry up and unite so we can cut off the heads of the infidels."
Russian media reported Kadyrov derided Byutukayev's announcement that his group would join IS.
"This statement is nothing more than a bluff. I don't think that a few surviving bandits who are still hiding in the woods can provide serious help to radicals from the so-called Iblis State," Kadyrov said, using the Arabic word for "devil" to refer to the terrorist group.
Kadyrov added, "These thugs have no chance at all here ... Nonetheless, we're not ignoring the threat that the Iblis State could pose, and so we will continue working to not allow the spread of this contagion in Chechnya. We will mercilessly destroy devils and bandits."
The Caucasus Emirate has worked as an umbrella group for smaller militant groups in Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia. The terrorist organization is estimated to have around 15,000 members.