The counterterrorism center of the State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) arrested two citizens in Kakheti and Kvemo Kartli regions within the ongoing investigation into the terrorist crime. According to the SSSG, as a result of the investigative operation, ammunition, explosive devices, explosive substances, and symbolic flags of the terrorist organization “Islamic State” were extracted from the residences of the detainees.
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According to Bacha Mgeladze, the Acting Director of the Counterterrorism Center, the investigation is being carried out under Articles 327 and 236 of the Criminal Code, and investigative activities are continuing both to reveal the nature of the participation of the arrested persons in the activities of the “Islamic State” and to identify other persons involved in the crime.
In May of this year, the State Security Service arrested 6 Georgian citizens on charges of affiliation with the “Islamic State.” According to the information of SSSG, the detainees were connected with one of the influential leaders of the terrorist organization and were planning various types of terrorist activities in several countries under his leadership. Within the same case, a criminal prosecution was initiated against a citizen of a foreign country.
Three months ago, several Turkish media outlets reported that the “Islamic State” has created a new body in Turkey, which is also active in Georgia and Azerbaijan. According to the state news agency Anadolu, members of the Jihad group formed as a result of propaganda activities in Turkey underwent military training in Georgia, after which they were sent to conflict zones and worked in Syria and Georgia. The State Security Service of Georgia denied the claim that supporters of the terrorist organization were undergoing training in Georgia.
Earlier, on April 22, SSSG announced the arrest of Malkhaz Paksashvili, a Georgian citizen, on charges of joining the “Islamic State” and aiding in terrorist activities. According to the security agency, Paksashvili left Georgia in 2013 and joined the “Islamic State” in Syria. He was enrolled in the group of “Military Emirs,” brothers Cesar and Tsiskara Tokhosashvili, and took an active part in the attacks and military operations carried out by the said terrorist organization. He had a close relationship with the high-ranking military commanders of the “Islamic State” and the so-called member of one of the groups of the terrorist organization. He held the position of “deputy.”
Tsiskara Tokhosashvili (a.k.a. Emiri Isa) was arrested at the Tbilisi International Airport in December 2022 by the employees of the counterterrorism center of the Security Service of Ukraine on charges of joining and assisting a terrorist organization. In the SSSG report, Tokhosashvili is mentioned as one of the leaders of “Daesh,” i.e. “Islamic State.”
The latest report of the State Security Service, which covers the year 2022, notes that as a result of the counterterrorism operations, during the reporting period, no terrorist activities were carried out in Georgia, no structured terrorist group had been functioning, and the risks of financing terrorist activities were reduced to a minimum. According to the report, there were no active radical/extremist centers in the country in 2022, and the number of possible supporters of terrorist ideology was low.
At the same time, among the terrorist threats and challenges facing Georgia, SSSG named the entry of supporters of terrorist organizations/foreign terrorist fighters into Georgia, including the use of the country's territory for transit purposes; Also, the recruitment of citizens by members/supporters of terrorist organizations and the possible entry into Georgia of Georgian members of “Daesh” and “Al-Qaeda” of Syria and Iraq.
