Anti Ski On:
"On a side note, I have twice had my credit card 'cloned' in that region, and both times the card was used to purchase flights."
Last year when my credit card number was stolen, it was used to pay for two flights between western Europe and the Caucasus. I raised it with my credit card company, who were uninterested. I decided to the info to the airline myself, and the information they sent me included the fact that the passengers had apparent Middle Eastern names. No idea whether there was anything sinister involved, but it seemed wise to at least pass on the info to the airline in the apparent absence of any other channel. It did make me wonder whether surveillance & intelligence can possibly keep up, though.