TBILISI. March 28 (Interfax) - More than 20 Georgian citizens were fighting for terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq in 2018, the Georgian State Security Service said in the annual report.
The report was presented to the parliament and quoted by the Georgian media.
The State Security Service reported deaths of several Georgian citizens in the hostilities in Syria and Iraq in 2018.
Lawful measures are being taken to deal with the threat of international terrorist fighters' return to Georgia, it said.
According to the State Security Service, there were no attempts of Georgian citizens to leave for either Syria or Iraq for the purpose of hostilities in 2018.
The efforts taken by the State Security Service significantly reduced the number of "potential followers of ISIL [banned in Russia]" and their influence in Georgia, the report said.
Ten criminal cases were opened in Georgia on terrorism counts in the reporting period, the State Security Service said.
The Georgian media said in early March that 34 residents of Georgia's Pankisi Gorge were killed in the hostilities in Syria and Iraq. Most of those people were fighting for ISIL.