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Russia security swoop after bodies found in Stavropol Russia hunts suspects after car shootings in Stavropol
(about 3 hours later)
Russian security forces have been deployed in an anti-terror operation 300km (186 miles) east of Sochi, the venue for next month's Winter Olympics. Police in Russia are hunting suspected Islamist militants after five people were found shot dead in cars, less than a month before the Sochi Olympics.
It follows the discovery of five bodies in four cars in the Stavropol region. All victims had been shot dead. The victims, who include taxi drivers, were left inside four cars in the southern region of Stavropol. Two of the vehicles were booby-trapped.
Local police said when investigators approached one of the vehicles, an improvised explosive device went off close by, but that no-one was injured. Police sources named three suspects, all from the volatile neighbouring region of Kabardino-Balkaria.
Police have reportedly released the names and photos of three suspects. Two are allegedly Islamist militants, already wanted over an earlier killing.
Another explosive device was made safe. Security forces are on high alert. In another development, Russian media say a woman has been arrested on a bus in Stavropol in possession of a suicide bomb belt. There has been no official confirmation.
The Russian authorities have already tightened security in the Black Sea resort of Sochi to ensure that next month's Olympics are safe. Two suicide bombers killed 34 people in the southern city of Volgograd on 29 and 30 December.
'Islamist group' Russia has mounted the biggest security operation in the history of the Olympic Games for Sochi, 300km (186 miles) south of Stavropol.
Two of the victims have been identified as local taxi drivers and all four cars are said to be Ladas, which are commonly used as cabs in Russia. Wanted men
All of the victims were found in Stavropol's Kirovsky and Predgorny districts on Wednesday, Russia's lenta.ru news website reports. The shooting victims were found near the villages of Tambukan, Zolskaya and Mariinskaya. The cars were said to be Ladas, commonly used as cabs in Russia.
According to the Russian news website Life News, which has close links to the security forces, three suspects from the neighbouring region of Kabardino-Balkaria are being sought by police. When investigators approached one of the vehicles, an improvised explosive device went off close by but no-one was injured, police said. A second explosive device was made safe.
Two of the men named are already on a Russian federal wanted list for the murder of a hunter last year. and are said to be members of an Islamist militant group. A counter-terrorist operation has been launched in the area.
About 37,000 police and interior ministry troops are now in place to provide security for the Games, which open on 7 February, Russian officials say. Police sources told Russian media that three suspects were being sought: Anzor Margushev, 32, and his brother Artur, 23, as well as Vadim Shogenov, 25.
The main concern is the threat of attack by Islamist militants from the restive North Caucasus region. Artur Margushev and Mr Shogenov are both already on a federal wanted list for the killing of a hunter in Stavropol on 29 October.
At the time, investigators told the news website Caucasian Knot that both men were suspected of being members of an Islamist militant group, the KBK Vilayat.
Following reports on other Russian media, an unnamed law enforcement source told Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper that a would-be suicide bomber had been caught on a bus in Stavropol after entering from the Karachayevo-Cherkessia region.
The woman, who was travelling with a small boy thought to be her son, was being interrogated by Russia's Federal Security Service, the source added.
Stavropol is particularly vulnerable to attack from Islamist militants in the North Caucasus as it borders the mainly Muslim regions of Chechnya, Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachayevo-Cherkessia.
Russia's most wanted man, Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov, has urged his fighters to target the Winter Games.Russia's most wanted man, Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov, has urged his fighters to target the Winter Games.
Security fears have been heightened after two suicide bomb attacks killed 34 people in the southern city of Volgograd on 29 and 30 December. About 37,000 police and interior ministry personnel are due to provide security for the Games, which open on 7 February.
Investigators believe the perpetrators were two men who arrived in the city from the North Caucasus region.