Sochi Olympics Safety Fears Soar After Video, 'White Widow' Report
By Carol J. Williams
January 20, 2014, 1:43 p.m.
A video threatening attacks on the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and the reported spotting of a suspected "white widow" volunteer for suicide bombing have intensified security concerns for the event and prompted U.S. military plans to evacuate Americans in a worst-case scenario.
Russian and international media reported Monday that security forces in Sochi had circulated bulletins to hotels and event sites in the Black Sea resort warning that several widows of Caucasus separatist fighters were suspected of trying to reach Sochi to carry out suicide attacks to discredit the Games' Russian hosts.
One of the so-called white widows, Ruzana Ibragimova, is believed to have arrived in Sochi on Jan. 10 or 11 and has been spotted in central Sochi in recent days, security analyst Alexander Valov said he was told by an official of Russia's FSB federal security force, the Moscow Times reported.
Agence France-Presse reported from Sochi that "wanted" posters had been circulated depicting four women suspected of being engaged in terrorist plots to press the independence causes of Muslim populations in the Caucasus Mountains region that are agitating for an Islamic-ruled state.
As the Olympic torch traveled Monday through Volgograd, scene of three deadly suicide bombings since October, U.S. security officials reiterated appeals for closer collaboration with Russia.
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http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-olympics-sochi-security-suicide-bomber-20140120,0,6569429.story#ixzz2qz7smA8b