Tbilisi, Sep 20 (AP) Police in the ex-Soviet nation of Georgia said Tuesday that 12 people were being held hostage by a gunman in a bank in the city of Kutaisi.

Georgian media report that the man, who is yet to be identified, demanded $2 million, a helicopter to leave the country and a Russian flag. The gunman reportedly announced his demands in a video posted on one of the hostages' Facebook page.

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It was not immediately clear whether anyone was injured in a standoff, which has already gone on for several hours at a branch of Bank of Georgia.

Georgian police have opened a probe on multiple charges, including terrorism, and said an effort to release hostages was underway.

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Kutaisi is a city of 147,000, located 180 kilometers (110 miles) northeast of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)