Iraq PM sacks nine officials over oil smuggling in pro-Iran stronghold

Resumen detallado

Dismissals follow probe that uncovered illegal oil refineries and smuggling in a region run by Kataib Hezbollah.

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).

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.

The prime minister “also ordered the dismissal” of nine officials, including security and intelligence officers in Babil province, an Interior Ministry commander, and the director of the Oil Pipelines Company at the Ministry of Oil, he said.

Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-aligned paramilitary group and one of Iraq’s most heavily armed factions, has recently issued several sharp statements against the prime minister, threatening his government and accusing him of corruption.

Senior Iraqi politicians previously told the AFP news agency that al-Zaidi had repeatedly said he was ready to confront groups refusing to disarm.

Al Jazeera’s Peter Smith, reporting from Baghdad, said previous Iraqi governments had been careful not to address the issue of an alleged oil smuggling network worth up to $30m monthly.

“This area had effectively been run as a state within a state until now,” Smith said. “But that seems to have changed, with Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi saying that no inch of Iraq will be allowed to have oil smuggling operations like this.”

Inicio del artículo, extracto de Al Jazeera. Para leer el resto, abra el artículo en el sitio del medio.