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| Caucasus |
| Georgia says dead guerillas involved in Moscow apartment block blasts |
| 2002-12-08 |
| Georgian special forces killed four and wounded one guerrilla during a Friday evening operation near the Pankisi gorge, an area reputed to be a shelter for Chechen rebels. One special forces member was seriously wounded during the operation, Security Minister Valery Khaburdzania told reporters on Saturday. He said that the guerrillas had taken a hostage and were trying to the cross the border into Russia. They were members of the Karachai ethnic group of the North Caucasus. He also said the guerrillas might have been involved in the kidnapping of British businessman Peter Shaw, who was released after being held captive in the gorge for four months. FOLLOWUP: Two of five militants who were killed near the Pankisi Gorge were wanted for organizing explosions of apartment buildings in Moscow, Georgian State Security Ministry spokesman Nika Laliashvili said. "Georgian special services monitored this group for a long time and certain actions were taken the day before in order to provoke their relocation. An ambush was set up for them in a deserted area. The militants were ordered to put down their arms and surrender. They opened fire on the servicemen and wounded one of them," Laliashvili pointed out. Rebels Tagir Bezhiyev, Timur Matchayev and Rashid Khubiyev committed suicide, he said. The other two militants were probably Georgian citizens who were to help the group cross the border, he said. It's good when they commit suicide. Saves having to shoot them or hang them... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |