Jamaat Kataib al-Khoul, Kataeb al-Ghoul, Kataib al-Khoul, Kataib al-Khoul Jamaat

Kata'ib al-Khoul is a radical Islamic group operating in the Russian Republic of North Ossetia, which shares a southern border with Georgia and eastern border with the Russian Republics of Ingushetia and Chechnya. These three Russian Republics make up part of the North Caucasus region in southern Russia, which has experienced radical Islamic insurgent violence originating in Chechnya spill into both Ingushetia and North Ossetia. Kata'ib al-Khoul has similar goals to other Islamic nationalist insurgent groups in the region. The group seeks to end Russian control of North Ossetia and establish an independent Ossetian state. Many of Kata'ib al-Khoul's public statements appear on pro-Chechen websites, which leads to the possibility that the group has ties with Chechen insurgents.<br /><p><br />In its short history, the group has conducted attacks by planting bombs and participating in small arms gunfire. Kata'ib al-Khoul first targeted gambling establishments in March 2006 because they considered the facilities immoral and corruptive influences on the Ossetian people. However, the group has also displayed its willingness to attack the Russian military along with Russian police in North Ossetia. It has even attempted to plant spies in the Russian government. In spite of these attacks, Russia has refused to acknowledge the existence of Kata'ib al-Khoul, stating that an Islamic insurgent group could not exist in a predominantly Orthodox Christian Republic. Some believe the group's members are from neighboring Republics.

As recently as October 2006, Kata'ib al-Khoul re-affirmed its desire to attack Russian military planes. At the end of November, a statement from the group on a Chechen separatist website offered rewards for the assassination of several prominent Russian officials. A sum of $50,000 each was offered for the killing of two specific battalion commanders in the Russian military, and the same amount was offered to for the assassination of Chechen Premier Ramzan Kadyrov. <P>The statement elicits that, since Kata'ib al-Khoul is offering a bounty for other sympathizers to carry out operations, they may have abundant financial sources.  Although it is difficult to approximate their funding situation, Kata'ib al-Khoul is likely to remain a moderate threat to the region in the foreseeable future.