ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Unidentified gunmen on Tuesday stole the salaries of 15 employees from a government office in central Kirkuk, a security source said.
The source told Kurdistan 24 that three masked men stormed the Directorate of Agriculture on Kornish Street in central Kirkuk and stole the salaries of employees. Further details were not immediately available.
The security forces are reportedly conducting an investigation to find the alleged perpetrators. The security forces also said they had already found leads in their investigation into the incidents as they were able to identify partially at least one of the criminals.
The 15 government employees were due to receive their salaries on Tuesday at the directorate. The stolen amount was estimated at IQD 17 million, or close to USD 12,000.
In March, a group of armed individuals staged what was perhaps the largest robbery in the Kurdistan Region in recent years. They ambushed an unprotected van in the city of Sulaimani as it was carrying salaries of employees of the Shar Hospital.
They then carjacked the vehicle and parked it at an inconspicuous area of the city, transporting the cash, which was estimated at about USD 800,000, to their runaway cars before fleeing.
A short while later, local security forces arrested most of the alleged suspects. In early April, they also claimed to have captured the mastermind behind the operation.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany