Georgia, under pressure from Moscow to halt rebel activity on its territory, today detained scores of Chechens and killed at least five guerrillas linked to deadly blasts in Russia three years ago.
As part of what it calls a broad anti-terrorist operation, Georgia also extradited to Russia a man Moscow says belongs to a group of Chechens behind the 1999 blasts that killed more than 300 people across Russia, Itar-Tass news agency said.
Today, in the biggest crackdown against Chechens in ex-Soviet Georgia in recent years, authorities took in dozens of foreigners, including Hizri Aldamov, the chief representative of the Chechen exile community in Georgia, to be fingerprinted.
Also summoned were relatives of top Chechen rebel envoy Akhmed Zakayev, wanted by Moscow for alleged terror crimes.
"Interior Ministry and security officials have detained and checked up about 80 people overnight. Another 12-16 are currently being checked," Mr Paata Gomelauri, spokesman for Georgia's Interior Ministry, told reporters in Tbilisi.