ABSTRACT
On 28 June 2016, a major terrorist attack which killed 45 people was carried out at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport. As the Turkish special services claimed, the terrorist act had been organized by ISIS members who were citizens of Russia and Central Asian countries. On 28 June 2016, a major terrorist attack which killed 45 people was carried out at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport. As the Turkish special services claimed, the terrorist act had been organized by ISIS members who were citizens of Russia and Central Asian countries. In the 1990s, Vakhitov fought on the side of the Chechen rebels, and later he joined the armed units of Islamists in Tajikistan, from where he went to Afghanistan to join the ranks of the “Taliban” movement. The Taliban put him into their prisons, for reasons to be discussed below; this is where the US apprehended. Already since his release from Guantanamo, Airat Vakhitov published about his experience, views in the Russian-speaking information space.
