Two bears found in abandoned house released into the wild in Sulaymaniyah

SULAYMANIYAH, Iraq — Authorities in Sulaymaniyah released a male and a female bear back into their natural habitat after the animals were found inside an abandoned house in the Garmak subdistrict, local police said on Thursday. The Sulaymaniyah Directorate of Forest and Environment Police said the bears had been captured by the city's Asayish security forces at the abandoned property and handed over to the directorate so that environmental and legal procedures could be carried out. The release was carried out under a judicial ruling issued by the Sayyid Sadiq Investigative Court and supervised by the Forest and Environment Police branch in the area, the directorate added. The operation was coordinated between the Asayish and the Forest Police center in the Khormal area. Officials said the suitability of the site where the bears were released was verified on the ground to ensure the animals' safety.