GROZNY. Nov 7 (Interfax-AVN) - Chechen warlord Ruslan Gelayev may soon be transported to Turkey or an Islamic country, a competent source in the regional headquarters in charge of the anti- guerilla operation in the North Caucasus told Interfax-Military News Agency on Wednesday.
"According to data available to Russian law-enforcement agencies, Gelayev is now in Georgia. Accomplices of Chechen rebels in that country are planning to transport Gelayev to Turkey or to an Arab nation," the source said.
He claimed that Gelayev had been transported to Georgia after getting a wound in battle with federal troops in the vicinity of the Ingush village of Galashki.
Georgian State Security Minister Valery Khaburdzaniya earlier told reporters that Gelayev was no longer in Georgia.
Of the nearly 800 Chechen and Arab fighters who once stayed in the Pankisi Gorge, as few as about 60 are still there, Khaburdzaniya said. The others have left Georgia, he said.
Khaburdzaniya did not rule out the possibility that al-Qaeda terrorist organization emissaries could have remained in Pankisi. "People linked to that or similar organizations could have visited Pankisi, albeit certainly not of the top echelon. But those who managed money, recruited people for war or were involved in terror attacks could have been there," he said.
His ministry and the Russian Federal Security Service have established good businesslike relations, Khaburdzaniya said. "We received special hardware recently. Not much, but this is only the beginning. Americans are also tangibly helping us. We, the Georgian, Russian and U.S. special services, have set up a triangle, which politicians speak so much about," he said.