Georgian PM thanks law enforcers, offers condolences to dead officer’s family

Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili visited the hospital where the four officers wounded at today’s anti-terrorist operation are receiving medical treatment.

Thanking the special operations members for their courage, Kvirikashvili offered condolences to the family of the special-ops serviceman who died in the shooting.

Unfortunately, we have one casualty - a special operations member has been killed. I avail myself of this opportunity to offer my sincere sympathies to the family of this serviceman, a true hero”, Kvirikashvili said.

Wishing the other four officers "a speedy recovery”, PM Kvirikashvili thanked the staff of the State Security Service and the Interior Ministry’s Special Task Force for their heroism.

Movement is unrestricted throughout the city, and there are no grounds for security concerns at all. Our heroes have neutralised this threat that could have proved detrimental”, Kvirikashvili said.

Responding to speculations that the operation took too long, Kvirikashvili said "the priority was to protect the safety of our population, our citizens, and everything was done to ensure against casualties, and our special operations squad succeeded in this end”.

Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili visited the hospital where the four officers wounded at today’s anti-terrorist operation are receiving medical treatment. Photo by PM's press office

Kvirikashvili said the ethnicities and citizenship of the criminal gang members does not matter. He said "what happened was that, in response to the request to surrender peacefully to the police, they opened fire”.

Prime Minister believes to avoid much worse consequences, "the actions of the special operations squad and the State Security Service were absolutely legitimate and correct”.

Suspected terrorists opened fire and threw hand grenades to the police through the windows of a rented flat. Photo source: Giorgi Abdaladze/Facebook

One suspected terrorist has been arrested and three killed during today’s anti-terrorist operation on Gabriel Salosi Street in Tbilisi today.

The State Security Service of Georgia carried out a special operation to arrest individuals who are not Georgian citizens and are alleged members of a terrorist organisation.