A Kyrgyz soldier checks civilians passports at a checkpoint near Batken September 3. The poorly equipped Kyrgyz army said on Thursday it had asked for Russian military help to dislodge about 750 gunmen, said to be Islamic rebels from Kyrgyzstan's neighbour Uzbekistan, who have occupied several villages to the south of Batken and are holding hostages, including four Japanese geologists and a senior Kyrgyz military official.

SZH/