TBILISI. Oct 22 (Interfax-AVN) - Reports published by the Western media citing Georgian presidential press secretary Kakha Imnadze as saying that Georgian special services have extradited 15 Arabs suspected of membership in the Al-Qaeda terrorist network, who were detained in the Pankisi Gorge, to the U.S. do not correspond to reality, Georgian Deputy State Security Minister Lasha Natsvlishvili told Interfax on Tuesday.
State Security Minister Valery Khaburdzania on Monday also said he was surprised by Western media reports that Georgia had extradited to the U.S. several Islamic guerillas detained in Pankisi and that two of those people had already been transported to the U.S. military base in Guantanamo.
Spokesman for the State Security Ministry Nika Latsvlishvili told Interfax earlier on Tuesday that the ministry had no information that another 30 Al-Qaeda fighters should be detained in the Pankisi Gorge in the near future.
Imnadze, whom Western media quoted while circulating the information on the extradition of captured Arab mercenaries to Washington, announced a special news briefing for Tuesday.