23:40, 2 December 2003

Four militants killed near Serzhen-Yurt identified as foreign citizens

Four militants killed in a combat with Russian task forces appeared to be foreign citizens, Colonel Ilya Shabalkin, a spokesman for the regional headquarters on the counter-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus, said in his interview with the Caucasus Times correspondent.

According to the officer, one of the killed foreigners was a citizen of Germany and the other three were citizens of Turkey.

Colonel Shabalkin was quoted as saying, "The special task operation was conducted by Russian troops in the vicinity of Serzhen-Yurt on November 23. As of now, we have established a few foreign mercenaries among the militants. According to the documents found at the scene, three of the killed were citizens of Turkey, and one militant turned out to be a German national."

Source: Caucasus Times Website