Armed foreigners arrested in Georgia

The authorities in Georgia say they have arrested four armed men as they were attempting to cross the border into Russia.

A spokesman for the border guard service said the four were carrying submachine-guns as they tried to enter the southern Russian region of Ingushetia, which borders Chechnya.

Two of them are said to be Russian citizens, and the other two were Arab nationals.

Georgia sent troops into its lawless Pankisi Gorge last month.

It says that several people - mostly described as criminals - have been arrested since then.

In a separate report, the Georgian chief prosecutor's office said 13 Chechen rebels who were detained near the border with Chechnya in August would be extradited to Russia.

The Russian authorities have long been demanding the militants' extradition.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service