ISIS

The threatening post (On.ge)

Tbilisi, DFWatch – State Security Service of Georgia launched a probe into a possible terror threat distributed by Facebook on Thursday evening.

ugly man

Photo of Omar Shishali, ISIS Pankisi-born field commander, used by facebook user as his profile picture

On Friday evening, a Pankisi man, 23, was detained by Security Service’s Counter-terrorist Unit for possible link to the threatening post in Facebook, ICK reports based on local radio WAY. The man was detained in Duisi, a central village in Pankisi Gorge.

Earlier the Security Service told various Georgian media outlets that it possessed all necessary information about the incident. The probe is being conducted by the Counter-terrorist Unit.

DFWatch withholds the name of the Facebook user who posted a photoshopped image of an explosion with a short text in Russian Cyrillic saying “Tomorrow (at) 12:30 Tbilisi firework”.

The author uses an image of Tarkhan Batirashvili, the deceased Pankisi-born military commander of Islamic State terrorist group. Batirashvili was better known by his ISIS nom de guerre, Abu Omar Shishani (“Abu Omar the Chechen”).

The post has been assumed as a clear terror threat by many Facebook users and triggered an uproar across Georgian media and social networks.

The Facebook post is currently not available, yet the account still exists.

As Security Service told On.ge they would release more detailed information later.