UK government officials are
warning that more terrorist attacks in Russia are "very likely to
occur" in the run-up to, or during, next week's Winter Olympics in Sochi,
where 88 countries will be competing.
A threat assessment seen by the BBC names a Caucasus
group, Imarat Kavkaz (IK), as posing the main danger to the games on the Black
Sea coast, saying it has repeatedly expressed a desire to target them.
It
points out that in July 2013 the group's fugitive leader, Emir Doku Umarov,
called on his followers to do what they could to disrupt the games.
The document
also points out that IK has no track record of attacking non-Russian interests
- its fight is with Russia rather than with the West.
Meanwhile,
US is taking security seriously, posting two of its warships offshore in the
Black Sea, offering "unspecified air assets", deploying FBI agents
and sharing counter-terrorism intelligence with Russia.
NBC
reports that an internet message from a group claiming to be behind attack in
Russia last year promised further violence against the country though the group
did not specifically mention the Olympic Games.