Pankisi Gorge

Pankisi Gorge is a valley region in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, northeast of Tblisi, which is being used as a base for transit, training and shipments of arms and financing by Islamic militants, many of whom follow Khattab[?].

As part of the "War on Terrorism", at the end of February 2002 the United States began offering assistance to Georgia to combat the militants, with $64 million and approximately 200 Special Operations Forces to train and equip four 300-man Georgian battalions with light weapons, vehicles and communications.