Russian security forces launch anti-terrorism sweep in country’s south

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russian security forces have launched an anti-terrorism sweep in response to the discovery of an explosive device and an unexplained series of deaths across a southern province near Sochi, which is hosting the Winter Olympics next month, RIA Novosti reports.

The Interior Ministry said that a car containing the body of an unidentified individual exploded as police approached it during one incident Wednesday, Jan 8, across the territory.

The bodies of two men and explosive material were discovered in a car, according to the security services. A further two bodies were discovered in other vehicles in the Stavropol area.

An anonymous security said that two taxi drivers, and a furniture fitter were among the dead. The precise circumstances of the deaths were unclear, but officials suggested that all five men had been murdered.

A series of terrorist attacks in the southern city of Volgograd, which is around 900 kilometers drive from Sochi, have frayed nerves among security officials in recent months as Russia prepares to host the high-profile Winter Games due to begin on February 7.

The attacks in Vologograd are believed to be the work of Islamic militants from Russia’s troubled North Caucasus region.

A large operation involving thousands of security officials was initiated Tuesday to protect the area around the Olympic sites in Sochi.