Georgia charges two suspected of IS links with storing explosives
Dozens of Georgians -- primarily ethnic Chechen Muslims from the Pankisi Valley in the country's northeast, a region known for jihadist recruitment -- have fought alongside IS extremists in Syria and Iraq, according to officials in Tbilisi.
TBILISI (AFP) - Georgia charged two people with alleged ties to the Islamic State group with illegally acquiring and possessing explosives, officials said Friday, as authorities crack down on suspected jihadists.
Dozens of Georgians -- primarily ethnic Chechen Muslims from the Pankisi Valley in the country's northeast, a region known for jihadist recruitment -- have fought alongside IS extremists in Syria and Iraq, according to officials in Tbilisi.
The prosecutor general's office said in a statement that "two individuals suspected of possible links to the terrorist organisation Islamic State were charged with the illegal acquisition and possession of ammunition and explosive devices."
Authorities also seized a flag bearing IS symbols during searches of the suspects' homes, the statement said.
Prosecutors have requested pre-trial detention for the suspects, noting that "joining a foreign terrorist organisation and assisting in terrorist activities carries a penalty of up to 17 years in prison."
In 2017, Georgian security forces killed three suspected members of a terrorist group during a counterterrorism operation in Tbilisi.
Among them was Akhmed Chatayev, the commander of a Chechen IS faction, whom Turkish media identified as the mastermind behind the deadly June 2016 suicide bombing at Istanbul's main airport.
The Pankisi Valley in Georgia's northeast has developed a reputation as a jihadist hotbed in recent years. It was home to one the most notorious IS commanders, Omar al-Shishani, who was killed in 2016 in a US airstrike near Syria's Mosul.
