Terrorist attacks in France – an international and regional threat

The civilized world has been shocked and saddened by the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, which claimed the lives of nearly 130 people and injured a further 350.

Several locations were attacked as part of a coordinated assault; the radical Islamic State (IS) state has claimed responsibility.

One of the seven gunmen who carried out part of the attacks has been identified by French investigators.

He was named as Omar Ismail Mostefai, a 29-year-old French citizen of Algerian origin, who had a criminal record and was known to have been radicalised, the BBC has reported.

Friday's attacks hit a concert hall, a major stadium, restaurants and bars in the French capital.

IS said it carried out the attacks on "carefully chosen targets" and were a response to France's involvement aerial bombing campaign targeting IS militants in Syria and Iraq.

President Hollande said France had been "attacked in a cowardly shameful and violent way" and vowed to be "merciless" in response to IS militants, BBC reported.

Commenting on the issue, all Georgian officials from all political directions stated they stood with France at this very difficult time and that the whole international community was united against terrorism.

The main state buildings in the Georgian capital have been illuminated in the colour of the French flag.

Terrorism is indeed an international threat and Georgia is a member of the international community.

One of the reasons named by foreign and local analysts why the extremists chose France was that the number of Islamic population in France is higher compared to some other European states and it is easier for terrorists to carry out attacks there.

There is a minority Muslim population in Georgia which has lived peacefully in Georgia for years. However, there has been a recent tendency youth travelling from Georgia’s Muslim populated regions to Syria and Iraq to join IS.

The most Muslim populated areas in Georgia are Pankisi in the east and the seaside Adjara region in the west.

IS is much interested in North Caucasus regions and it has also been revealed by some Georgian analysts, Vakhtang Maisaia among them, that IS might also establish a branch in Georgia to connect with the North Caucasus Muslim regions; though these areas are officially part of the Russian Federation, Moscow's grasp of these territories is tenuous at best.

The current Georgian Government has stated that it has already made various steps to prevent Georgians travelling to fight for IS and made legislation stricter in this regard.

The security bodies also emphasiised that they are doing their best to prevent terrorist attacks.

It will be too hard for Georgia to cope with terrorism alone if it comes under attack. It would be best for the country to be in constant cooperation with the world powers in this regard, to prevent terrorist activity inside the country.