In October 2010, Kebekov was appointed by Dokka Umarov as the Qadi or judge of the Caucasus Emirate, responsible for giving Shariah rulings on the groups actions.
[4] On 16 January 2014, an audio clip was posted on YouTube, in which a voice claiming to be Kebekov acknowledged receiving the news that Umarov had died.
[9] In the weeks after this announcement, the site also posted pledges of allegiance to Kebekov from groups in Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia and Kabardino-Balkaria, as well as members of the Chechen-led Syria-based Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar.
[13] The day after the Grozny attack a Russian Federal Security Service building in neighboring Dagestan was reported to be engulfed in flames.
[14] In late 2014 and early 2015, at least 6 field commanders of the Caucasus Emirate, and an unknown number of ordinary members, switched their allegiance from Kebekov to the Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.