MOSCOW, Aug 25: The unsolved death of eight Russian border soldiers, whose bodies were found in the Caucasas mountains on Saturday, raised tensions in the border area between Russia and Georgia on Sunday.

The border post Sasada, occupied by 10 soldiers in the south of the Russian republic of Ingushetia, on the border with Georgia, had probably been ambushed by Chechen rebels, sources from the border troops in the south Russian town of Stavropol said on Sunday.

The news agency Itar-Tass reported that two missing soldiers were assumed to have been kidnapped by the rebels. Russia called upon Georgia to help searching for the two men, it was reported.

Meanwhile Georgia sent soldiers as well as tanks in order to bring the Pankisi gorge in the border area between Chechnya and Georgia under their control.

Besides being home to about 7,500 Chechen refugees, the valley is believed to be used as a hiding place by about 800 rebels. After the snow thaws, they can move largely without hindrance along the high Caucasian mountain paths in the border area between Chechnya, Ingushetia and Georgia.

The United States criticized Russia on Saturday for carrying out cross-border bombing raids on the gorge, which were said to have killed three people and injured seven.

White House speaker Ari Fleischer also denounced Russian violation of Georgian air space, which was denied by the Russian military. Observers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) meanwhile confirmed the attacks.

The Russian foreign ministry again criticized its neighbour for not taking sufficient action against the rebels in the gorge. The eight to 10 Georgian control posts in the valley were only pushing the rebels back into Russia, Moscow said.

Instead, “the terrorists should be surrounded, disarmed and then handed over to Russia”, the foreign ministry said.—dpa