ISTANBUL

Around 20,000 rounds of ammunition belonging to the German armed forces, Bundeswehr, were reportedly stolen from a civilian truck, the Defense Ministry confirmed to the daily Der Spiegel on Monday.

According to initial reports, unknown individuals seized around 20,000 rounds of Bundeswehr ammunition after the driver of a civilian transport company, contracted by the military for deliveries, left his loaded truck unattended overnight from Monday to Tuesday last week.

Left in an unsecured parking lot in an industrial area near the northeastern town of Burg, the truck’s cargo area was broken into overnight, and several boxes of military ammunition were stolen.

Around 10,000 rounds of live pistol ammunition, 9,900 rounds of training ammunition for assault rifles, and so-called smoke rounds were reported to be stolen.

A spokesperson for the Defense Ministry described the incident as a serious security breach and noted that such ammunition "must not fall into the wrong hands."

The ministry stressed that the civilian shipping company failed to follow security protocols by leaving the truck carrying Bundeswehr ammunition unattended during an unplanned overnight stop.

As the investigation continues, military sources suggest that the transport may have been monitored and that the perpetrators struck during the driver’s unplanned stop in Burg, rather than it being a random robbery.