Kurdistan Region CT reveals identity of Erbil governorate attackers
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s Counter-Terrorism (CT) forces on Monday said the three armed persons who attacked the Erbil Governorate building earlier in the day were youths from the Kurdistan Region and residents of the capital.
“According to preliminary investigations, the three gunmen who stormed the Erbil Governorate office and were killed when they faced off against the security forces were from the Kurdistan Region and were residents of Erbil’s New Citadel neighborhood,” a statement by the office of Kurdistan Region’s CT revealed.
Security forces killed three militants as an hours-long siege Monday morning on the Erbil Governorate building came to an end, a Kurdish security source confirmed early afternoon.
The gunmen injured a policeman and entered the building around 7:00 a.m. local time before official working hours began, the source explained.
“Their names were Bilal Sulaiman, born in 2000; Rahel Mohammed, born in 2002; and Abdul-Rahman Rahim, born in 2002,” the CT statement continued. “They were all high school students.”
The Kurdistan Region's Counter-Terrorism forces say gunmen who stormed Erbil Governorate on Monday were born in Erbil. Their names were Bilal Sulaiman (18), Rahel Mohammed (16), and Abdul-Rahman Rahim (16). #TwitterKurds https://t.co/NaNbKetNko
— Kurdistan 24 English (@K24English) July 23, 2018
(Photos: Kurdistan CT) pic.twitter.com/9UqklWGu2q
Kurdistan 24 obtained CCTV footage of Monday’s attack on the Erbil Governorate which shows the three suspects entering the building.
Soon after they stormed the office, Kurdish security forces surrounded the area and launched an operation to clear the building of any threat.
“The motive behind the attack is unclear. It may or may not be a terrorist attack,” Tahir Abdullah, Erbil deputy governor, told Kurdistan 24.
Four security members were injured in the raid to retake the building, Barzan Qassab, the deputy director of Erbil security, said.
A man by the name of Farhan Elya who worked in the Erbil Governorate building for years serving tea died of injuries sustained during the attack. He was rescued and taken to the hospital but succumbed to his injuries on the way, a medical source told Kurdistan 24.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany
