Georgian Citizen Killed in Syria

The Radio Way, a community radio station based in Georgia’s north-eastern Pankisi gorge, reported yesterday that a Georgian citizen Tamaz Batirashvili was killed in Syria.

38-year-old Batirashvili, native of village Birkiani in Pankisi gorge, who had reportedly left for Syria in 2013, died in a clash on July 24, according to the radio station.

Tamaz Batirahsvili was the brother of Tarkhan Batirashvili, otherwise known as Omar al-Shishani, one of the military commanders of the Islamic State group, who was killed in 2016.

At least 27 natives of Pankisi gorge have died fighting in Syria since 2012.

According to the Georgian State Security Service, as of December 2017, there were up to 30 Georgian citizens fighting for extremist groups in Syria and Iraq, down from the 2016 figure of 50 militants.

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