-->US troops crack Iraqi bank safes
American soldiers in the
northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk
have broken into the vaults
of a fire-gutted bank to
release money to pay local
oil workers.

Employees of the North Oil
company collected overdue
wages after US army engineers
used pneumatic drills to
penetrate the vaults - which
were damaged when the bank was looted last month.

Heavily-armed American troops provided security, directing
thousands of workers towards a charred brick building where
cashiers dished out money.

Oil company officials said Thursday's wage distribution was an
important step towards reviving the local economy.

Kirkuk is the centre of northern Iraq's oil industry.

Its main bank was ransacked
when Saddam Hussein's regime
collapsed last month.

Looters burned the building
after failing to crack the safes.

"I'm just happy the looters
didn't get the money," US Sergeant Dan Gone told Reuters
news agency.

"The workers here haven't been paid for two months," he
added.

Hungry mouths

Sensitive about potential criticism of the US military's role in
Iraq, officers stressed the money was handled by bank
workers only.

Headscarved women behind barred windows handed out
banknotes to the oil workers.

But there was little sign of
satisfaction on the faces of
those taking home wages to
hungry families, Reuters
reports.

"This is not enough to live on,"
technician Emad Nazim Abdullah
said as he counted out a salary
of $50.

"I have 10 people to feed,
house and clothe and this will only last a week."

Computer worker Raisan Zubaidi added:"Prices in the shops
have risen because of the looting and lack of stability, so this
money won't go far."

But North Oil Company officials saw the payment of wages as
an opportunity to restore economic activity in Kirkuk.

"This is an important day for the company and the local
economy," said Gago Toma, head of accounts at the
company.

"If people have money they will start spending in the shops
again. That has got to be a good thing."
<ul> ~ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2992837.stm</ul>