Following the death of Caucasus Emirate leader Dokka Umarov in 2013, Byutukayev reportedly became the new head of Vilayat Nokhchicho.[10] On 15 May 2014 a video was released online showing Byutukayev and the district commanders of the insurgency giving an oath of allegiance to the new head of the Caucasus Emirate, Aliaskhab Kebekov. This was the largest meeting of the Chechen insurgents known to have occurred since the 2011 leadership dispute.[10] Despite this, from late 2014 many Chechen mid-level commanders retracted their oath to Kebekov and pledged loyalty to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.[11] In June 2015, Byutukayev announced that he had also pledged allegiance to al-Baghdadi.[12]