"One of the groups consists of supporters of killed Ruslan Gelayev. It has over 200 people in it and is based in the vicinity of the Dusi and Khalatsani villages. The other group of about 50 militants is in the northern part of the gorge near the Omalo and Tselebani villages," a source told RIA Novosti, citing Chechens visiting their relatives in the villages in the Pankisi Gorge.
As winter is coming, he said, the lack of funds and food reserves for the winter makes terrorist leaders look for a safe pullout of militants from the territory of Chechnya and taking wounded bandits outside Russia for the winter.
"The bandits are commanded by functionaries of international terrorist organizations and close assistants of Abu Havs and foreign mercenaries of Abu Atya and Abu Rabya," RIA Novosti was told at the headquarters.
According to the information the press center received from the witnesses, still another group of militants is stationed near the village of Virkani. In the group there are about 30 foreigners speaking Turkish among themselves.
The relatives of the Chechens living in the Pankisi gorge said that local residents were well aware about the bandit groups staying in their villages, because in many residential areas of the region bandits take food and cattle away from villagers. Besides, they openly circulate propaganda literature of extremist content.
In the villages of Duisi and Khaltsani the militants compel local young people from among Chechen Kistins under the threat of death to join the bandits, in this way forming a group of reservists, a headquarters spokesman said.
He said also that the information received from the Chechen relatives who stayed in Georgia has been confirmed by a man from the gang of Doku Umarov, detained in the Shatoi Region.
He said that the Arab militants coming to the gorge stay in the village of Khaltsani, which has long been used as a trans-shipment point and also as a training camp for militants, the source told RIA Novosti.
The Georgian authorities have stated repeatedly in recent time that there are no militants in the Pankisi Gorge.
