Riyad us-Saliheyn Brigade

12/12/2006

The Riyad us-Saliheyn Martyrs Brigade (also transliterated, Riyad us-Salihin) is a relatively young terrorist organization, dedicated to killing anyone who stands in the way of establishing an Islamic theocracy in Chechnya and throughout the Caucasus Region in such places as Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria, Ingushetia, Ossetia and Tataria. The group, whose name translates to "Requirements for Getting into Paradise," espouses Salafi Islamic doctrine (Wahhabism). Since the Riyad us-Saliheyn is a subsidiary of Shamil Basayev's terrorist holdings, it has ties to al-Qaeda.

Riyad us-Saliheyn is descended from two other Chechen terrorist organizations led by Basayev, the Special Purpose Islamic Regiment and the International Islamic Brigade. Some affirm that Riyad us-Saliheyn is simply the merger of these two groups.

Muslims Meeting the Requirements for Getting Into Paradise have intensified their attacks in recent years, claiming responsibility for some of the most devastating terrorist attacks in modern history. The suicide bombing which destroyed the headquarters of the pro-Russian Chechen government, killing 72 and injuring 280 people was their first mission. According to Basayev, the perpetrators of the attack were an ordinary Chechen father and his two teenage children.

In August of 2003, a similar attack was made, but this time the target was a hospital housing both civilian and military patients. That bombing resulted in the death of 52, while injuring 72. Their most vicious attack was on the 2004 Beslan school massacre, where hundreds of children were murdered. Prior to the merger that formed the Riyad us-Saliheyn, in 1995 Shamil Basayev terrorists blew up the Budyonnovsk hospital. In 2002 they became infamous around the world for their Moscow theater siege.

Shamil Basayev has also used "Black Widow" suicide bombers to carry out terrorist acts. An example is the August 2004 airline and subway bombings which were conducted during one of Islam's most brutal weeks worldwide. While the death of Shamil Basayev in July 2006 was seen as a large setback for the brigades, the group remains active and deadly.

The first terrorist attack attributed to Basayev was the 1991 hijacking of a Russian passenger plane to Turkey. He gained notoriety in 1994 with the Russian invasion of Chechnya and the subsequent Islamic resistance. (It's important to understand that the people of Chechnya have voted overwhelmingly to remain a secular state associated with the Russian Federation.) It was during this time that Basayev met Ibn al-Khattab, who became the prime conduit of finance between Chechnya and Salafi Islamists from the Persian Gulf region - and in particular Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Many claim that Basayev's group has used that money to acquire a nuclear weapon.

For more information, see Shamil Basayev.