According to Russian law enforcement officials, Shameyev's militant career began in May 2010 when he was involved in a skirmish with local security forces.
[3] Traveling in a car with fellow militants, the vehicle exploded and Shameyev lost his right eye but was still able to escape his pursuers; this was seen as an act of God by other militants of the North Caucasus, and Shameyev's profile grew considerably.
[4] Known as a "brilliant and charismatic orator" who had been "lionized" on North Caucasian jihadist websites, Shameyev and Asker Dzhappuyev - the overall leader of the United Vilayat KBK - were the "putative masterminds" behind a 12-month killing spree that resulted in the deaths of dozens of police and local government officials in Kabardino-Balkaria, including republican mufti Anas Pshikhachev as well as respected Circassian ethnographer Aslan Tsipinov.
[2] Shameyev was killed by Russian security forces in the village of Progress, Stavropol Krai on 29 April 2011.
[2] It has been speculated that the 7 April 2011 capture of two of the United Vilayat's support personnel in Progress may have led to the intelligence that revealed Shameyev's safehouse and resulted in his death just weeks later.