Al Qaeda terrorists find refuge in its territory, Georgia admits

Tedo Dzhaparidze, secretary of the Georgian National Security Council, has come up with a very hopeful statement that "the most active phase" of an anti-crime operation will begin in the Pankisi gorge "in a day or two." Georgia calls "anti-crime operation" its phoney struggle against international terrorists, whose bases are found in the Pankisi gorge.

In a conversation with journalists on Tuesday, Dzhaparidze assured them that the Georgian authorities are expecting "tangible results".

The secretary of the Georgian Security Council had to admit what is long known and what Tbilisi has been stubbornly negating all the time. "Some members of the Al Qaeda terrorist organisation and involved persons are found in the Pankisi gorge," said Dzhaparidze. Georgia's law enforcement bodies are taking measures to detain them, he said. No results have, so far, been reported.