Teimuraz Batirashvili: "Now he says he left because of his faith, but I know he did it because we were poor" Omar al-Shishani may now be one of the most feared jihadists in the Middle East, as a commander in the al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis), but his early life was very different. He was born Tarkhan Batirashvili and grew up in Georgia's picturesque Pankisi Gorge.
![The Georgian roots of Isis commander Omar al-Shishani](https://cdn-ak-scissors.b.st-hatena.com/image/square/44e8b093a5f4401fc0e2e7d4b81003cab87d14bf/height=288;version=1;width=512/https%3A%2F%2Fichef.bbci.co.uk%2Fnews%2F1024%2Fmedia%2Fimages%2F76130000%2Fjpg%2F_76130212_76130211.jpg)