http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014 ... identifiedSochi Olympics terrorism threat: Two more 'black widow' suspects identified
By Albina Kovalyova, Richard Engel and Erin McClam, NBC News
SOCHI, Russia — Russian security officials are hunting for two more young Muslim women — so-called “black widow” terror suspects — who they believe are planning to target the final stages of the Olympic torch relay with suicide bomb attacks.
Wanted posters distributed by police say that the women have been dispatched by underground groups to attack between Tuesday and Thursday in Rostov-on-Don, where the torch is expected to arrive Wednesday on its way to the Olympic city of Sochi.
The posters warn that the suspected terrorists may wear clothes that do not adhere to Islamic tradition, such as long dresses and hijabs, so that they can blend and “infiltrate into places with mass gatherings without hindrances.”
The posters ask for help finding the women: Jhannet Tsakhaeva, 34, from the restive Russian region of Dagestan, and Oksana Aslanova, 26, from Turkmenistan. A third woman who was wanted, Zaira Alieva, 26, from Dagestan, was killed Saturday by Russian security forces in Dagestan, NBC News confirmed.
In addition, wanted posters seen by NBC News on Tuesday identify two men — Ruslan Saufutdinov, 21, and Murad Musaev, 25 — who the posters say are planning attacks in southern Russia.
The posters suggest “gaping holes in security right now in Sochi,” said Evan Kohlmann, an NBC News terrorism analyst.
He said that they undercut Russia’s plan for a “ring of steel” around Sochi to protect the games — a 1,500-square-mile security zone that includes more than 40,000 police officers, special forces, ultra-sensitive sonar, monitoring drones and patrol boats.
“The problem is that when you need to stop a lone-wolf suicide bomber, you need to think about government intelligence. You need to think about preventive measures,” said Andrei Soldatov, a Russian security expert. “But not about the number of troops you can put on the ground.”
To the east of Sochi is the volatile Caucasus region, where an Islamic insurgency is simmering. It is the area of greatest concern as President Vladimir Putin tries to protect his Olympics from terrorism.
Russia has been aggressive in trying to decapitate the leadership of militant groups in the Caucasus. But there are “plenty of foot soldiers and volunteers” willing to join the fight, said Andrew Weiss, a former Russia expert in the Clinton White House who is now vice president for studies in the Russia and Eurasia Program of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
“The added part of this is the regional, small-cell-based structure,” said Weiss, who is an NBC News analyst. “It’s very hard for the Russian security forces to penetrate that. That’s been a chronic problem for the Russians all along.”
Fears of an attack are growing as the games approach. On Sunday, a video surfaced in which two men claimed responsibility for twin bombings last month in the Russian city of Volgograd, and vowed they had a “surprise” in store for Putin and Olympic tourists.
And this, from another article:
For months the Putin regime, from Putin on down, has been dismissive about claims of possible terrorist attacks at the Sochi Olympics, calling them "fear mongering" and confidently asserting that these would be, "The most secure Olympics in history" and bragging about their "ring of steel"...
US, Russian forces hunt jihadist widow feared inside Olympic zone
U.S. counterterrorism operatives are helping Russian security agents in the hunt for four female potential terrorists, including a "white widow" -- the wife of a dead terrorist -- who could already be inside the massive security zone set up for next month's winter Olympics.
More: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/01/21 ... mpic-zone/
For them to now raise the alarm so publicly, (and also to seek US help) has to be deeply humiliating and embarrassing and underscores just how worried they must be about the threats (six that they've publicly identified; who knows how many they haven't) and how seriously they take them. Otherwise they would have tried to deal with it quietly, and would never have asked for assistance from the United States.
Obviously this is going to put a huge dent in attendance for the events, and cast a long shadow over the media coverage of what Putin was hoping to have as a prestige building show case event for Russia and his regime.
With that huge downside, these steps (going public and bringing in American help) would only have been taken if the Russian authorities believed there was no other way to have a chance of thwarting the planned attacks.
