The Ministry of Interior Affairs of Georgia identified seven persons killed in a special operation in the Lopota Gorge

The Ministry of Interior Affairs of Georgia identified seven out of 11 persons killed in a special operation in the Lopota Gorge, near the Georgian-Russian border. According to the Ministry, two of them are citizens of Georgia.

It should be reminded that the Ministry of Interior Affairs of Georgia reported detection of a group of armed people in the territory of Georgia who supposedly came from Dagestan. Three young men were released during a special operation on August, 28, and one more group of hostages at night of August, 29. In the afternoon of August, 29, the Ministry of Interior Affairs reported release of the third group of peaceful residents. During the special operation three officers of riot squad of the Ministry of Interior Affairs of Georgia perished and five got wounded. Besides, 11 supposed gunmen were killed.

According to the Ministry of Interior Affairs of Georgia, there were Georgian citizens Aslan Margoshvili born in 1990 and Bahaudin Kavtarashvili born in 1986 among those killed, "Novosti-Georgia" reports.

"Five persons were citizens of the Russian Federation from Northern Caucasus. One on them, Bahaudin Bagakashvili, was born in Grozny on February, 10, 1986, and had relatives in the Pankisi Gorge (Eastern Georgia), a report of the Ministry of Interior Affairs issued on September, 3, runs. There are also citizens of the Russian Federation: Dukvakha Doshuev born in 1968, Salam Zaurbekov born in 1991 and Musa Aduev born in 1981, natives of Chechnya, and Djabrail Khashiev born in Ingushetia in 1989, among those identified.

Earlier, the Ministry of Interior Affairs of the country declared that none of the persons killed in the special operation in the Lopota Gorge was a Georgian citizen. "A number of questions connected with the special operation carried out in the Lopota Gorge are currently under investigation. We can say definitely that none of the 11 people we liquidated was a citizen of Georgia", "Georgia Online" quotes Deputy Minister of Interior Affairs of the country Shota Khizanishvili.

Georgian mass media state that six of the 11 killed persons were residents of the Pankisi Gorge, "Interfax" reports. Georgian media agency "Kakheti Informational Center" mentions three names: Aslan Margoshvili, Bagaudi Aldamov and Bagaudi Bagakashvili.

Human rights activist Dachi Tsaguria puts a number of questions before the Georgian authorities and asks them to clarify some points: how and where from did the armed people get into the territory of Georgia, where are the rest members of the group and who is responsible for this sector of the Georgian-Russian border? According to him, the answers to these questions will help brighten the details of the special operation. Tsaguria adds that providing answers to the questions the community is concerned about is in the interests of the Georgian Government, News.ge reports.

"A point of special alert is the information spread during the last days according to which the terrorists liquidated by the authorities were our compatriots who resided in the Pankisi Gorge", Tsaguria points out.

It should be mentioned that official Tbilisi considers that gunmen from Dagestan penetrated into the territory of Georgia. Giga Bokeria, Secretary of Security Council of Georgia, declared that the Dagestani sector of the border had a very complex relief for surveillance and it was not serious to say that the Russian party registered no illegal crossing of the Georgian border. On August, 29, Vadim Shibaev, Deputy Head of Public Relations Center of Federal Security Service, reported that "the border services registered no cases of illegal crossing of the Dagestani sector of Russian-Georgian state border".

The "Caucasian Knot" also reported that a session of Georgia-NATO Committee was held in NATO headquarters in connection with the confrontation of Georgian special units with an armed group in the Lopota Gorge. The European Union also issued a statement expressing its concern about the incident.