Political analysts report expansion of ISIL beyond Northern Caucasus

The majority of special operations and detentions of suspected supporters of the terrorist organization "Islamic State" (IS) banned in Russia began to take place outside Northern Caucasus, states political analyst Akhmet Yarlykapov. Meanwhile, experts do not expect a significant increase in the activities of IS supporters in Russia.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on April 17, in the Rostov Region, a leader of an IS unit was killed in the course of a special operation. Three people suspected of plotting a terror act are detained.

"The majority of the people detained as IS supporters are natives of Central Asia and not of Caucasus," said Akhmet Yarlykapov, a scientist researching the Caucasus.

According to him, a well-functioning recruitment network operated mainly beyond Northern Caucasus.

Akhmet Yarlykapov has noted that very often, prior to commitment of a terror act, loners were not practicing Muslims: "almost in all cases, they indulged into instant radicalization, some kind of eclipse."

The Russian government has made so many enemies that a threat can be expected from a variety of socially unfavourable environments, journalist Orkhan Djemal believes.

According to him, in Russia, people often express bias against socially disadvantaged persons. "If a person is a Muslim and is connected with the Caucasus, then people associate him with the IS," Orkhan Djemal noted.

Expert Mikhail Roschin believes that after the defeat of the main IS centres, the activities of IS supporters in other countries has noticeably decreased.'