Six commanders in Russia, three Chechen and three Daghestani, have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) militant group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
According to the Washington Post, Rustam Aselderov, Abu-Mukhammad Agachaulsky, Makhran Saidov, Sultan Zaynalabidov and two other commanders are now attempting to create an Islamic caliphate in the heart of the Middle East.
According to reports, there is no clear explanation as to why this alignment happened.
It may be possible that that some Islamic radicals in Russia may be turned off by a more "moderate" approach to jihad or that generational disagreement may be a factor.
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