Taliban threat video uploaded from within Georgia

An online video threatening punishment against Georgian troops in Afghanistan was posted to the Internet from inside Georgia, the interior minister said Wednesday. Interior Minister Irakli Gharibashvili said after a National Security Council meeting Tuesday that the video had been uploaded from inside the South Caucasus country. "As for the video, formally, until the end of our investigation I do not want to rule out the possibility that the video was made by the Taliban, but I want to reiterate that the origin of this video has nothing to do with the Taliban," Gharibashvili said. "The video, released on behalf of the Taliban, was posted on the Internet from within Georgia," the minister said. "The IP address is identified and the location is established." Gharibashvili said that the video had been released to create panic. Hours before the June 7 deaths of seven Georgian troops at an Afghan base, a YouTube video entitled "Taliban Jihad Against Georgian Troops in Afghanistan" threatened Georgian troops and their families and warned of attacks on Georgia. It was the second deadly attack within a month against Georgian troops in Afghanistan, where three other Georgian troops were killed on May 14. Twenty-nine Georgian troops have been killed in Afghanistan since the country joined the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission in late 2009. Now with 1,561 people in service in Afghanistan, Georgia is the largest non-NATO troop contributing country and the seventh largest troop contributing country after the United States, Britain, Germany, Italy, Poland and Romania.