Georgian Interior Ministry units continue an operation to free hostages from an armed group that crossed into Georgia from Russia’s Dagestan on Tuesday.
One of the intruders was killed and others have been injured in the operation so far, the Novosti-Georgia news agency reported on Wednesday.
Georgian security forces earlier sealed off a gorge near the border where the armed group was detected on Tuesday.
The armed band took three different groups hostage: one group of five young people from the Kaheti region was found safe on the evening of August 28; a second group has been released; and the operation to free the third group is underway, Georgian television channel Rustavi 2 reported. It did not report the total number of hostages.
Residents of the village closest to the operation, Lapanquri, said that 20 Interior Ministry and military vehicles passed through on Tuesday evening headed for the border. They also reported that 10 ambulances headed toward the area of the operation on Wednesday.
A total of 200 service personnel are involved in the operation, Rustavi 2 said.