VIDEO: IS' underground tunnel tactic used to steal gold in Erbil
The tunnel is three meters deep and 30 meters long.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – An underground tunnel was recently discovered in Erbil used to steal gold from a shop in the city, but the attempts failed after a security alarm notified the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper explained the incident in detail to Kurdistan24 correspondent Afsanah Shamohamadi, revealing the tunnel was three meters deep and 30 meters long.
According to security personnel, the suspects were from Mosul, the city controlled by Islamic State (IS) militants since June 2014.
They used a machine to melt beneath the storage and steal the gold, but after the bags inside were set ablaze, a security alarm in the room sent signals to the owner.
The suspects lived in a rented house nearby the shop. They were digging the tunnel in the daytime and disposed of the soil during the night, according to the security.
Moreover, the security complained about the house owner and neighbors who did not report the suspects before the incident took place.
The suspects have been under the rule of IS for at least two years.
Their tunnel skills were believed to be inherited from the extremist group in Mosul.
In the past year, Kurdistan24 has explored some of the underground tunnels used by IS to hide from the US-led coalition air strikes.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany