Will it be safe to attend the Sochi Olympic Games?

In a surprise home raid in Dagestan on Tuesday, Russian security forces killed Eldar Magatov, a senior Islamic insurgent suspected of leading numerous attacks on Russian targets.

The raid is a part of Russian leader Vladimir Putin's crackdown on domestic extremists as he faces intense international pressure over Sochi Olympic security concerns.

"Our task as organizers is to provide security for the participants and guests of the Sochi Olympic Games. We are going to do everything for that," said Putin on Friday.

Roughly 500 miles from Sochi is the disputed area of Chechnya, where the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s reignited historic separatist movements, spreading across the North Caucasus.

For decades, the region has been a state-versus-nationalist hot spot. Chechnya has seen two wars. Violence has since spilled over into neighboring Dagestan and Ingusetia. In 1999, Putin led Russia in the second war against Chechen separatists, conducting air raids on mountain villages. Thousands have died from the ongoing conflict.

Extremist groups are now vowing to disrupt the games as payback to Russia, despite security forces' working in overdrive to squash dissent.

"What's happening now in the run-up to the Olympics — in the North Caucasus — is proof of a hard-line approach," said Tatyana Lokshina, Human Rights Watch's program director for Russia.

Security services are currently looking for three women — dubbed "black widows," women active in militant groups looking to avenge their husbands’ deaths — believed to be planning Olympic-related attacks.

Wanted posters for Ruzan Ibragimova, whose husband was killed by Russian security forces last year, are hanging in Sochi now as the city prepares to host 90 nations.

Vilayat Dagestan, an Islamic insurgent organization based in the North Caucasus, has threatened to attack the world event.

"Your Olympics, which you want so much, we have prepared, if God permits, a gift for you there ... And for the tourists who will come, there will also be a present for them too, if God permits," warned two Vilayat Dagestan members in an online video. The two claimed Vilayat Dagestan was responsible for two suicide bombings in the Russian city of Volgograd last month that killed 34 people.

Russian authorities say 37,000 security personnel will guard the Olympic site next month, utilizing a "ring of steel" strategy, with metal detectors, sniffer dogs and bomb detectors. But threatening groups say other parts of Russia are targets too.

The U.S. is offering to help with security in Sochi. The Pentagon said in a statement on Monday that “air and naval assets ... will be available if requested for all manner of contingencies in support of — and in consultation with — the Russian government.”

The Pentagon clarified that “there is no such requirement at this time.”

For some U.S. lawmakers, Russia's assurances are not enough.

One critic is Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., who serves as the House Intelligence Committee chairman. "I am very concerned about the security status of the Olympics. I do believe the Russian government needs to be more cooperative with the United States when it comes to the games. We have found a departure of cooperation, which is very concerning to me," he said.

An estimated 15,000 Americans are planning to attend the games. The opening ceremony is Feb. 7.

Is it safe to attend the Sochi Olympics?

What do extremist threats mean to Russia's reputation?

Will Russia accept help offered by the international community?

We consulted a panel of experts for the Inside Story.

The above panel was assembled for the broadcast of Inside Story to discuss.

For future hard-hitting conversations, find Al Jazeera America on your TV.