One police officer and three suspected members of a terrorist group have been killed in an anti-terrorist raid in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, the State Security Service said on November 22. 

The raid, which involved over 200 security personnel, began late on November 21, when police patrols and special forces reportedly surrounded a building on Beri Gabriel Salosi Street in Tbilisi.

After law enforcement unsuccessfully sought to negotiate a surrender, the suspects, who were located on the sixth floor of a residential building, reportedly started throwing hand grenades out of the windows. Law enforcement opened fire and stormed into the building at 5.00am local time on November 22. 

“The members of the mentioned criminal group were not Georgian nationals,” said the security service statement. 

“Surveillance has been conducted over the mentioned individuals during recent several weeks, they are identified and we are waiting for the final confirmation. Relevant activities are being carried out in the scope of international anti-terrorist cooperation in an effort to establish their criminal ties.”

The building has reportedly been evacuated and, at 11.30 am, a number of area residents were also seen leaving. A school and a kindergarten in the area have been temporarily closed.

According to Rustavi 2 television channel, the suspected terrorists and security forces exchanged fire throughout the night, damaging the facade of the building.

According to Georgiatoday, the situation at the scene continued to be very tense in the early afternoon of November 22.

Georgia has experienced pockets of homebred terrorism in regions like Pankisi, which contributed tens of soldiers to the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria. However, domestic attacks have not taken place and raids of these magnitude are unusual.