Pankisi Gorge operations of Georgian Army
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The Pankisi Gorge crisis was a spillover of the Second Chechen War, with military dimension in Georgia early in the 2000s. Georgia was pressured by Russia and the United States to repress the threats of
Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
in the Pankisi Gorge.


The ricin crisis

There seems little reason for
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Abu Musab al-Zarqawi ( ar, أَبُو مُصْعَبٍ ٱلزَّرْقَاوِيُّ, ', ''Father of Musab, from Zarqa''; ; October 30, 1966 – June 7, 2006), born Ahmad Fadeel al-Nazal al-Khalayleh (, '), was a Jordanian jihadist who ran a t ...
to move into Pankisi Gorge, which is remote from Middle Eastern operational environments. In the build-up to the Iraq War in early 2003, dozens of North Africans (mainly Algerians) were arrested in the United Kingdom, France and Spain on charges of preparing
ricin Ricin ( ) is a lectin (a carbohydrate-binding protein) and a highly potent toxin produced in the seeds of the castor oil plant, ''Ricinus communis''. The median lethal dose (LD50) of ricin for mice is around 22 micrograms per kilogram of body ...
and other chemical weapons.
Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; April 5, 1937 – October 18, 2021) was an American politician, statesman, diplomat, and United States Army officer who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African ...
and others trumpeted the arrests as proof of the threat posed by the Zarqawi-Chechen-Pankisi ricin network, which has now been expanded to include the Ansar al-Islam of Kurdish northern Iraq. French and British security officials were astounded by Powell's insistence on February 12, 2003, saying that "the ricin that is bouncing around Europe now originated in Iraq." With the Iraq invasion only weeks away, the source of the ricin threat moved from Georgia to Iraq. Sergei Ivanov reported that the Spanish suspects had been trained in the Pankisi Gorge by
Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
terrorists and even claimed that Osama Bin Laden may have been hiding somewhere in the
Akhmeta Municipality Akhmeta ( ka, ახმეტის მუნიციპალიტეტი, ''Axmeṫis municiṗaliṫeṫi'') is the administrative – territorial unit in Eastern Georgia, in the region of Kakheti. The administrative center of Akhmeta munic ...
. There were also claims of several Al-Qaeda laboratories producing ricin. Those lacked any evidence however, as the production of ricin required large quantities of castor beans, which were not grown in Georgia.


U.S.-Georgian anti-terrorist operations

On 28 April 2002 a small Georgian anti-terror unit lead by their U.S. commander ambushed a group of insurgents. It was falsely believed that prominent mujahid leader Ibn al-Khattab was among the dead, according to allegations that Omar Mohammed Ali Al Rammah reportedly witnessed him die in that incident. This was due to his real identity remaining a mystery until after his demise. The quick and violent nature of the operation reportedly sparked fear among Chechen militants in the area, who went into hiding. By October 20, 2002, Georgia had netted about a dozen Arab militants. The Georgians and the U.S. led a serious crackdown on the militants that littered the gorge, capturing an unknown number of combatants. On September 3, 2003, President Eduard Shevardnadze said that the Georgian security forces had established full control over the gorge. Georgia sent 1,000 police officers and security troops to the region late in October, setting up checkpoints and vowing to impose order. Georgian officials also said they planned to build up the number of border troops near Chechnya and
Ingushetia Ingushetia (; russian: Ингуше́тия; inh, ГӀалгӏайче, Ghalghayče), officially the Republic of Ingushetia,; inh, Гӏалгӏай Мохк, Ghalghay Moxk is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. ...
, another Russian republic. Russia accused Georgia of allowing Chechen fighters to raid across the border. On June 15, 2003, 15 more Chechen militants entered the area and took refuge in a two-story house. Georgian officials said that more than 30 militants were detained. France cracked down on May 14, 2004, by arresting two Algerians working with chemical and biological weapons. Georgia announced the end of the operation and withdrew its Internal Troops from the region by January 21, 2005.


See also

* 2012
Lopota Gorge hostage crisis The Lopota incident, known in Georgia as the special operation against an illegal armed group in Lopota (Georgian: შეიარაღებული დაჯგუფების დევნის ოპერაცია ლაფანყ ...


References

{{Post-Cold War European conflicts Post-Soviet conflicts Chechen–Russian conflict Al-Qaeda activities 2001 in Georgia (country) 2002 in Georgia (country) 2003 in Georgia (country) Operations involving Georgian special forces