One person was injured as a result of the unprecedented counter-terrorist special operation, which is underway in the Isani-Samgori district of Tbilisi, the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza reported, noting that the injured is a member of a special unit.
The sounds of shooting and explosions can be heard on the outskirts of Tbilisi, the police are trying to enter the building where the suspects hide.
The correspondent said that the residents of the buildings where the special operation is being held were evacuated and the gas was cut off for security reasons.
The building in which the suspects are located is surrounded, several police brigades control the perimeter. The special operation involves approximately 200 police officers.
Local TV channels report that the terrorists are foreign nationals.
According to the latest data, a fire broke out on the ground floor of the building where the terrorists are hiding. The residents fear that the building may collapse.
Classes in the school №97, which is located near to the dangerous spot, were canceled, the school director Ketevan Meurnishvili said.
A member of the ‘Expert Club of Georgia’ Vakhtang Maisaya, speaking to Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that the special operation has been underway for a very long time. "The assault has not been completed yet, the operation has been underway for more than 16 hours. While it is not at all clear what group these militants may belong to, as well as their citizenship. However, the fact that such a serious opearation is taking place indicates that the terrorists were very well prepared for conducting military actions in the city," he said.
The political scientist drew attention to the fact that this is an extraordinary event for Georgia. "The special operation confirms that the special services were able to reveal the cell of terrorists in time. Alas, now international terrorism is able to activate its cells everywhere, even in those countries that seemingly have nothing to do with extremists. In this regard, this is a new challenge to security, and all communities should be ready for this," Vakhtang Maisaya stressed.
Political scientist Gela Vasadze also drew attention to the duration of the operation. "There are a lot of rumors in the city, but it is not clear yet what is happening there. For Tbilisi all this is very unusual, we have never had such a thing, the citizens do not yet know what to think about it," he noted.
The problem of a terrorist underground is not relevant for Georgia now, but there are opportunities for the actualization of this issue. "We have the Pankisi Gorge, a region inhabited with the Kists, strongly influenced by Wahhabism. And many young people from this region have gone to Syria and Iraq to fight for terrorist groups, and now there is a danger that these people may return. In general, the terrorist threat to the whole of the Caucasus is quite a serious challenge," Gela Vasadze concluded.
