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Chechen leader says Islamic State poses threat to Russia

Ramzan Kadyrov said Islamic State terrorists have nothing to do with Islam
Ramzan Kadyrov (center), December 2014 Yelena Afonina/TASS
Ramzan Kadyrov (center), December 2014
© Yelena Afonina/TASS

GROZNY, May 28. /TASS/. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said on Thursday the Islamic State (IS) militant group poses a threat to both the Middle East and Russia.

"And we should do utmost to counter this evil," Kadyrov told a meeting of the republic’s Interior Ministry. The Chechen head has urged law enforcement agencies to prevent any attempts of recruiting the local youth.

"The IS terrorists have nothing to do with Islam. Their path contrasts with our religion. This has been proven by the leading Islam researchers. They are cutting, beheading and shooting innocent people, including Muslims," Kadyrov was quoted by his press service as saying.

Chechnya’s youth should get this message, he said.

"One of the key tasks for the law enforcement agencies is to prevent the cases of the youth joining the ranks of armed gangs, and namely the IS," Kadyrov said.

"The enemies of Russia want to see the Chechen Republic hit by the war," he stressed.

"They want explosions to rock here and shootings to be heard every day. And when they see peace and order on the Chechen land, they make information about a mythic threat and escalation of the situation out of thin air," he said.

The Islamic State, set up in 2006, is an international Islamic terrorist organization operating on the territory of Iraq and Syria. The group was created as a result of a merger of 11 radical Sunni groups led by an Al Qaeda branch in Iraq.