British officials are warning that terrorist attacks are “very likely to occur” in Russia before or during the Winter Olympics in Sochi.
With the Olympics set to take place next month in close proximity to the volatile North Caucasus region, British government officials believe a Caucasus group that has repeatedly talked of targeting the Sochi games, Imarat Kavkaz (IK), poses a real danger, BBC reports.
In December, twin bomb attacks in the city of Volgograd killed 34 people. A militant Islamist group based in Dagestan claimed responsibility for the bombing. The latest British assessment points out that Sochi will be a very difficult target for terrorists compared to Volgograd, with over 30,000 police officers and Interior Ministry troops guarding the city.
Other countries are also taking precautions. The United States is posting two of its warships offshore in the Black Sea, sharing counter-terrorism intelligence with Russia and deploying FBI agents to the region.
[BBC]