The State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) arrested a foreign national linked to the terrorist organization the Islamic State. On today’s briefing, SSSG’s head of the counter-terrorism center Bacha Mgeladze denied information circulating in Turkish media that the terrorists held training on Georgian territory.
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“We unequivocally refute speculations in foreign media regarding the military training of terrorists and the presence of terrorist training camps on the territory of Georgia. There are no camps here, and no terrorist training is underway.
Moreover, an investigation has been ongoing in SSSG for a while, as part of which we obtained large-scale alarming information and promptly shared it with our counterparts. Based on the intelligence provided by us, Turkey’s anti-terrorist service together with other units conducted two major anti-terrorist operations yesterday, May 5,” says Bacha Mgeladze.
On May 5, several Turkish media sources reported that 74 suspects were arrested as part of an anti-terrorist operation conducted simultaneously in 23 provinces by the Turkish police and the National Intelligence Organization. Based on the information obtained through investigation, the Islamic State has created a new structure in Turkey, which also operates in Georgia and Azerbaijan. According to the state news agency Anadolu, the members of the “Jihad group”, which formed as a result of propaganda activities, underwent military training in Georgia, after which they were sent to conflict zones and worked in Syria and Georgia. As part of the investigation, a total of 92 arrest warrants were issued. The suspects were mostly based in Diyarbakir.
According to the State Security Service of Georgia, as a result of a joint operation carried out by them and competent agencies involved in national counter-terrorism, the activities of the Islamic State on the territories of multiple foreign countries have been exposed. A device carrying electronic information was obtained, from which satellite photos of strategic objects in the capitals of the USA and Europe were extracted. SSSG declares that persons with ties to the terrorist organization, their methods of communication, areas of interest, and possible sites of future attack outside of Georgia have been uncovered.
The State Security Service does not release any additional information on the foreign citizen detained in Georgia.
