Analysis-Dagestan shootings spotlight rising Islamist threat for Putin

By Andrew Osborn

LONDON (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin says Russia's war in Ukraine is part of an existential struggle with the West that demands total focus - but deadly shootings in Dagestan show that militant Islam is a rising threat that may force him to redirect resources.

The latest violence, in which at least 20 people were killed on Sunday evening in a series of apparently coordinated shootings in Russia's far south, raises awkward questions for its intelligence and security services.

They appear to have been caught off guard at a time when much of their attention is focused on Ukraine and the threat of Ukrainian-linked attacks inside Russia.

"Radical Islamism is again raising its head in Russia," said Sergei Markov, a former Kremlin adviser, who had just returned from a trip to the North Caucasus region.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/analysis-dagestan-shootings-spotlight-rising-050314079.html

Yet Pooty Poot wants to blame NATO.