ISIS Declares Governorate in Russia’s North Caucasus Region
June 23, 2015 - Harleen Gambhir![](https://understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/styles/thumb-wide/public/ISIS%20QAWQAZ%20MAP_2.png?itok=PA_TaMKO)
ISW assessed in early June 2015 that one of ISIS’s most likely courses of action during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan would be to declare a governorate in Russia’s North Caucasus. ISIS indeed announced the creation of a new governorate, called Wilayat Qawqaz (Caucasus) in the region on June 23, 2015, after several senior militants in the area pledged allegiance to ISIS.