GROZNY. July 30 (Interfax-AVN) - By Tuesday morning, the federal forces eliminated more than half of the rebel group that had crossed into Chechnya's Itum-Kale district from Georgia, Colonel Ilya Shabalkin, a spokesman for the headquarters of the counter-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus, told Interfax on Tuesday.
He said that the rebels who survived have been surrounded and that "there is no danger of their breaking through into Chechnya."
He also noted that two rebel groups with a total strength of about 60 members had crossed into Chechnya. One of the groups was led by field commander Khasan. The group that was neutralized was intended as a cover for another group of about 200 that was also sent to Chechnya, he said.
The rebels were allowed to move ten kilometers into Chechnya's Itum-Kale district in order to cut off any retreat routes back to Georgia, Shabalkin said.
Edilbek Uzuyev, the head of the Itum-Kale district administration, told Interfax on Tuesday that the situation is calm in the populated areas and that local residents did not leave their homes after the sweep operation began.
No bomb or shell explosions have been registered in populated areas and none of the local civilians suffered any injuries, Uzuyev said.