Russia Raids Terrorists Ahead of Sochi Olympics

At Business Week, "Russia Mounts Security Sweeps to Choke Insurgency Near Sochi":

Two counter-terrorism operations were under way in Dagestan, a Muslim-majority region on the Caspian, east of Sochi, said Alexander Polyakov, a spokesman for the National Anti-Terrorist Committee. Russian forces also embarked on a third mission, with an insurgent leader killed in a shootout, Interfax reported, citing unidentified security officials.

Russian authorities are pushing to dispel concerns about deteriorating security in the region before the games in Sochi begin Feb. 7. The operations in Dagestan come on the heels of renewed threats against the Olympics made in a video released three days ago by Islamic extremists, who also claimed responsibility for suicide bombings in Volgograd that killed more than 30 people last month.

“As you understand, such videos do attract attention,” Polyakov said by phone, adding that security experts were studying the recording. He said he couldn’t comment on a Fox News report that Russia and U.S. security forces are searching for four potential female terrorists in Sochi.

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Also at Debka File, "Would-be bombers may already be inside Russia’s anti-terror “ring of steel” for the Sochi Olympics," and at WaPo, "Terrorist search in Sochi before Olympics sets nerves jangling despite Putin’s safety promise."