MOSCOW, July 7 (RIA Novosti) - Nikolai Kovalyov, a former head of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), said the London blasts were connected with the International Olympic Committee's decision to award the 2012 Olympics to the British capital.

"The events in London are directly connected with the IOC decision on the [2012] Olympics," said Kovalyov, who also heads the lower chamber of parliament's committee for veterans.

He said he was convinced that the terrorist attacks had been prepared beforehand not only in London but also in the other cities that had been bidding to host the Olympics.

The recent terrorist attacks in Daghestan, a Russian republic in the North Caucasus, could have been "a rehearsal of terrorist attacks in the capitals," Kovalyov said.

He added that, in his opinion, the attacks aimed to affect the Olympic Games.

"The global community overlooked this threat from a common enemy, international terrorism," he said.