US, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia Say They Received Terror Threats Ahead of Sochi Winter Olympics

Starting soon

The United States and five European countries said Wednesday that they have received messages containing terrorist threats ahead of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi, but Russian organizers and the International Olympic Committee are downplaying the threats, describing them as random messages from a member of the public.

The U.S., Germany, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia and Slovenia said they received the threats in the form of emails and handwritten letters, according to Reuters. The messages threatened that athletes will be targeted with terrorist attacks at the upcoming games.