Courcy’s Intelligence Brief

*** Security concerns mount ahead of Sochi Winter Olympics.  Russia is to host the Winter Olympics from 7-23 February in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.  From a security point of view, the locality is dangerously close to the rebellious North Caucasus region.  The 21 October bombing of a bus in the southern Russian city of Volgograd has, in particular, raised fears of further attacks in the run-up to the Games. 

The danger has been well flagged by the rebels themselves.  In July the leader of the self-proclaimed jihadist state in the North Caucasus, Dokka Umarov, issued a video in which he called on jihadist rebels to disrupt the Winter Olympics in retaliation for “barbaric” Russian policies in the region.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin responded to the threat by issuing a decree in August under which, for two months, only vehicles with a special permit would be allowed to enter Sochi.  Mass rallies in Sochi were also banned.  In a further sign of Russian concerns, on 31 October it was reported that Russia has begun taking saliva samples from religiously conservative Muslim women so as to better aid identification in the case of suicide bombings undertaken by women.  Then, on 3 November, Putin approved a further set of anti-terrorism laws under which the relatives and acquaintances of those who carry out suicide bombings will have to pay damages. 

In a further sign of Russian concern (or preparation) while security operations in the North Caucasus carried out by the Russian security services in 2012 was down to 599 from 648 in 2011, this figure rocketed to 990 in the first 10 months of 2013.  Umarov, however, remains at large.

*** Al-Qaeda threat to French citizens in Mauritania.  On 7 November, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQLIM) issued a video in which it threatened to target French and other Western interests in Mauritania.  The video said that “the war against France and its allies continues and AQLIM will emerge victorious”. 

This was followed by jihadist Habib Elmouritani promising to kill French citizens in the Mauritanian cities of Nouakchott, Kaedia, and Seilibabi.