Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ordered the dismissals after an investigative committee verified that crude oil and derivatives were being tapped from two strategic southern pipelines using illegal refineries and satellite imagery. The removed personnel include the Babil police chief, intelligence officials, an Interior Ministry commander, and the director of the Ministry of Oil's Oil Pipelines Company. All accused participants have been referred to the judiciary for further legal action. The enforcement action occurs amid escalating friction with Kataib Hezbollah, which recently issued threats against the government and leveled corruption accusations against al-Zaidi.
Key points
Prime Minister al-Zaidi is using anti-corruption measures to cut off the funding of heavi…: Prime Minister al-Zaidi is using anti-corruption measures to cut off the funding of heavily armed Iraqi factions.
Previous administrations avoided targeting smuggling operations located within Kataib Hez…: Previous administrations avoided targeting smuggling operations located within Kataib Hezbollah strongholds like Jurf al-Nasr.
All individuals implicated in the pipeline siphoning ring have been referred to the judic…: All individuals implicated in the pipeline siphoning ring have been referred to the judiciary for prosecution.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
Dismissals follow probe that uncovered illegal oil refineries and smuggling in a region run by Kataib Hezbollah, a pro-Iranian armed group.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has dismissed nine senior security officials over an alleged oil smuggling operation in the Jurf al-Nasr area, a stronghold of the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah group.
Al-Zaidi chaired an emergency security meeting to review the findings of a committee investigating smuggling in Jurf al-Nasr, Babil province, military spokesperson Sabah al-Numan told the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
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The move follows an investigation that uncovered illegal oil refineries and evidence of manipulation linked to the smuggling activities.
“In light of the investigation’s findings, [the prime minister] ordered that all individuals accused of involvement in oil smuggling operations be referred to the judiciary,” al-Numan said.
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