Police: 12 people held hostage in bank in ex-Soviet Georgia

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Police in the ex-Soviet nation of Georgia say 12 people are being held hostage by a gunman in a bank in the city of Kutaisi. Georgian media report that the gunman, who is yet to be identified, has demanded $2 million, a helicopter to leave the country and a Russian flag. 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 the hostages was underway. Kutaisi is a city northeast of the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.