 In January 1999, Khattab began the formation of an "Islamic Legion" with foreign Muslim volunteers.At the same time, he commanded the "peacemaking unit of the Majlis (Parliament) of Ichkeria and Dagestan".A series of invasions of Dagestan from Chechnya took place during the inter-war period, culminating in the 1997 attack on a federal military garrison of the 136th Motorized Rifle Regiment near the Dagestani town of Buinaksk.