Buzz
With the 2014 Sochi Olympics approaching, law enforcement and security experts are growing increasingly worried about the potential threat of "Black Widow" terrorists, a group of female suicide bombers. Who exactly are they? Where did they come from? What led to their infamous name?
To start, let's take a look at the geography. Sochi is one of Russia’s southernmost cities. With its subtropical climate and stunning beaches along the Black Sea, it’s a favorite summer vacation spot for Russians. You could compare it to Fort Lauderdale in the U.S. Now, imagine if the Winter Olympics were held in Fort Lauderdale!
Sochi sits close to the Caucasus Mountains. This region, stretching from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea, has experienced ongoing conflict and insurgencies for nearly three decades. It has also been the site of some of the most horrifying terrorist attacks in modern history.
The political, economic, and cultural dynamics in the region are deeply complex, but here's a simplified overview of the recent years. To the east of Sochi lies Chechnya. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Chechnya declared itself an independent nation. This move was not well-received in Moscow, which had established a federation of republics and territories. The Russian Federation argued that Chechnya couldn't simply form its own government and create a new country, and rejected such an attempt. Meanwhile, the remnants of Soviet control, along with a mass exodus of non-Chechens, left Chechnya socially and economically crippled.
This conflict led to the First Chechen War, which Chechnya more or less "won," though at the cost of tens of thousands of lives and a destroyed infrastructure. In the aftermath, Chechnya, while somewhat independent, became a lawless zone rife with kidnapping and arms trafficking. During this period, Islamic fundamentalism thrived. After Chechen separatists carried out a series of terrorist attacks that killed hundreds, including attacks on apartment buildings and a shopping mall, Russia had enough and launched an invasion, marking the start of the Second Chechen War.
After intense fighting, Grozny, Chechnya's capital, was reduced to rubble. Meanwhile, Russia launched devastating bombings on the surrounding mountain regions using thermobaric weapons. After a decade of brutal combat, with thousands of casualties on both sides, Russia emerged victorious.
The insurgency didn't end, however, and spilled over into neighboring Dagestan. The violence of these insurgents reached an unimaginable scale. For example, in 2004, on the first day of school—known as Knowledge Day—a group of extremist Islamic separatists used paramilitary tactics to seize control of a school in the small Russian town of Beslan in North Ossetia. The horrors of that event are too much to detail here. Over 1,100 people were taken hostage, including nearly 800 children. Three days later, 186 of the children were dead, with a total of 330 hostages killed. Most of the hostages were injured. Chechen terrorists are not to be underestimated, and this is well understood by those responsible for security in Sochi, which lies only about 250 miles from the violence.
Just three weeks ago, suicide bombers went on a rampage in the city of Volgograd, with one bombing a bus and another attacking a train station, killing 34. After the attacks, a video appeared on an extremist website in which the bombers issued a chilling warning: "We've prepared a present for you and all tourists who come [to Sochi]... If you will hold the Olympics, you'll get a present from us for the Muslim blood that's been spilled."
This brings us to the black widows. While the specifics may differ, the general understanding is that militant groups recruit the widows of men killed in the brutal Chechen Wars or in other conflicts across the Caucasus. These widows are trained as suicide bombers and sent out on missions of vengeance. Because they defy the typical image of young male terrorists, black widows are better able to blend into crowds and infiltrate areas unnoticed. Women also have an advantage in disguise, using makeup and fashion to help them go unnoticed. The first recorded black widow attack occurred in 2000.
ABC News
This week, Russia’s federal security service released wanted posters featuring four black widows believed to be involved in a plan to disrupt the torch relay or the Olympic Games. Posters for the individuals orchestrating the plot have also been circulated. While Russia has pledged to create a "ring of steel" around Sochi with 40,000 security personnel, these wanted posters indicate a fear that the security perimeter might have been compromised. With reports suggesting that Russian spies have had limited success infiltrating small regional terrorist cells, the warning from the Volgograd video cannot be ignored.
Among the massive crowds at the world's biggest event, four black widows remain, each acting alone and driven by revenge. If there is valid intelligence behind the wanted posters, the odds of four individuals against 40,000 security personnel are truly dangerous.
