Iraq Prime Minister dismisses nine officials over oil smuggling probe

Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali al‑Zaidi has removed nine senior security officials after a probe uncovered illegal oil refineries and smuggling in the Jurf al‑Nasr area of Babil province, a stronghold of the Iran‑backed Kataib Hezbollah militia.

Dismissals and judicial referrals

Al‑Zaidi chaired an emergency security meeting to review the findings of a committee investigating the smuggling network, military spokesperson Sabah al‑Numan told the Iraqi News Agency. The prime minister ordered that all individuals accused of involvement be referred to the judiciary and that nine officials – including security and intelligence officers in Babil, an Interior Ministry commander, the director of the Oil Pipelines Company, and the provincial police chief – be dismissed.

The investigation revealed that two strategic oil pipelines south of Baghdad had been tapped, with crude and derivatives siphoned off and sold on the black market in an operation estimated at tens of millions of dollars each month. Satellite images and intelligence documents presented to the committee confirmed the smuggling activities.

Kataib Hezbollah, one of Iraq’s most heavily armed factions, has recently threatened the government and accused it of corruption. Analysts say the crackdown is linked to broader militia disarmament efforts, with the prime minister framing the move as an anti‑corruption measure to cut the group’s financial lifeline.

Source: Al Jazeera. Photo: 龔 月強 / Pexels.