MOSCOW. Sept 17 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov has informed President Vladimir Putin that 17 federal servicemen, including the crew of the crashed helicopter, were killed in the battle in Ingushetia's Galashki on Thursday and that the number of killed guerrillas is about 50-60 people.
At a working meeting with the president on Friday, Ivanov said that it has been established that the guerrilla unit numbered 180 people. The group left the Pankisi Gorge and infiltrated through the Georgian-Russian border in two teams. It happened before the Georgian authorities launched a so-called anti-criminal operation, Ivanov said.
A Georgian guide helped the gang get through complicated mountain passes, where the guerrillas lost several people, including two Turkish citizens, Ivanov said,
While the unit tried to reach Chechnya through Ingushetia, it was spotted by a reconnaissance patrol, after which army and Interior Ministry forces were promptly brought to the area.
When Putin asked him about the current situation in Chechnya, the minister said replied it is quite calm, "although the entire