By RHONDA SCHWARTZ, JAMES GORDON MEEK and BRIAN ROSS
Police in Sochi have launched an
urgent search for a possible female suicide bomber who may have already
made it past the ring of security set up for the Olympic Games.
Hotel employees
in Sochi told ABC News that posters with pictures and descriptions of a
22-year-old woman from nearby Dagestan were distributed over the
weekend by authorities and a similar flyer was also seen posted at
Sochi's airport.
The woman is
identified as Ruzanna Ibragimova, using the nickname Salima, the widow
of a militant reportedly killed in a shoot-out with police last year in
Dagestan.
She is described as
being affiliated with the Caucasus Emirate, the terror group led by Doku
Umarov that has threatened attacks against the Winter Games in Sochi.
Ibragimova
is described as having a 10 centimeter scar across the left cheek, a
pronounced limp, and a stiff left arm that doesn't bend at the elbow.
A police wanted poster
published by an online Sochi news website said she had left Dagestan
earlier this month and arrived in Sochi about ten days ago.
Security
experts said it was troubling that she may have been able to get to
Sochi despite the so-called "ring of steel" of security forces that
President Vladimir Putin has said will make the Olympics safe from
terrorists.
"The fact that one
individual either was able to stay in the area before the ring of steel
went up or get through it really raises questions about the strength of
the Russia security apparatus," said Christopher Swift, a Georgetown
University professor who has studied militant groups in the North
Caucasus.
"The specific worry is that she's
a woman and because of that it's easier for women to infiltrate indoor
or outdoor venues, that she could be a bomb carrier."
Swift said it is rare for the group's suicide bombers to operate alone.
"Usually, in the past, when we've seen female suicide bombings, there's either been two women who are both bombers," said Swift.
The FSB, Russia's domestic intelligence service preceded by the KGB, declined to comment for this report.
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