Georgia has so far shot down 10 Russian aircraft and destroyed up to 30 Russian tanks in the conflict over South Ossetia, the secretary of Georgia's national security council said Saturday. He added that Georgia's armed forces had, as of Saturday morning, lost "as many as 40 military servicemen" with more than 100 wounded.
Russia sent hundreds of tanks and troops into the separatist province of South Ossetia and bombed Georgian towns Saturday in a major escalation of the conflict that has left scores of civilians dead and wounded. Russian military aircraft raided the Georgian town of Gori on Saturday. An AP reporter who visited Gori shortly after the bombing saw several apartment buildings in ruins, some still on fire, and scores of dead bodies and bloodied civilians. The fighting threatens to ignite a wider war between Russia and Georgia. |