ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on Saturday dismissed nine senior security and administrative officials and referred suspects to the judiciary after an official investigation confirmed widespread oil smuggling in Babil province's Jurf al-Nasr, where the pro-Iran Kataib Hezbollah wields considerable influence.
According to a statement issued by his office, Zaidi removed nine officials from their positions and ordered to refer “all suspects involved in the oil smuggling operations” to the judiciary, pledging to take legal measures against them, following an emergency security meeting held to review the investigative committee's report on oil smuggling in Jurf al-Nasr, a heavily militarized zone south of Baghdad.
The dismissals follow a widening political controversy sparked on Monday when several Iraqi media outlets published details of a leaked 19-page intelligence report alleging organized crude theft dating back to 2021 in Jurf al-Nasr, previously known as Jurf al-Sakhr before being renamed.
Following the Saturday's emergency meeting, during which the investigative committee presented its findings, Zaidi relieved the Babil police commander, the North Babil police director, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) commander in Babil, the provincial national security director, and the director of the Babil intelligence service.
The prime minister also dismissed the interior ministry's director of Babil intelligence and counter-terrorism, the defense ministry's director of Babil intelligence and security, the commander of the Energy Police's 6th Brigade, and the oil ministry's director of the Oil Pipelines Company.
"The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces directed that operations commanders, provincial police commanders, and directors of security and intelligence agencies shall bear full responsibility for any instances of oil smuggling that occur within their sectors of responsibility," the statement added.
Zaidi also ordered tightened regulatory and security measures to hold negligent parties accountable, stressing that "not a single inch of Iraq will remain where smuggling is practiced, from Zakho to Basra."
On Thursday, Zaidi established the high-level investigative committee in a decree published by the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA) on Friday, appointing the director general of the PMF Security and Discipline Directorate, Sheikh Ali al-Zaidi, to lead the probe alongside senior security, intelligence, oil ministry, and oversight officials.
Citing an unnamed source, INA confirmed the authenticity of the leaked intelligence report, claiming that the smugglers used underground pits to store stolen crude, concealed pipeline breaches beneath white metal structures, operated a small illegal refinery, and intensified tanker movements at night to avoid surveillance.
The allegations also prompted a separate parliamentary inquiry on Wednesday, when Parliament Speaker Haibat al-Halbousi ordered a temporary committee led by Security and Defense Committee Chair Khalid al-Obaidi to examine the intelligence reports, including alleged oil smuggling from Kirkuk and the Kurdistan Region through Iran to Afghanistan, and the attack on the Khor Mor gas field.
Meanwhile, the controversy also engulfed Babil Governor Ali Turki al-Jamali, who announced his resignation on Thursday, just two days after visiting the area to dismiss reports of smuggling.
During his visit, he claimed the site in question was an old fuel station supplying vehicles belonging to the PMF and Federal Police. However, subsequent social media posts by Turki and the governorate suggested he was continuing to perform his duties.
The scrutiny emerged as Baghdad intensified pressure on armed factions to surrender weapons outside state control, amid a widening political divide in which Asaib Ahl al-Haq - led by Qais al-Khazali and politically associated with Turki - has supported the prime minister's disarmament efforts while Kataib Hezbollah has resisted committing to them.
Located approximately 60 kilometers southwest of Baghdad, Jurf al-Nasr was retaken from the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2014, after which Kataib Hezbollah established a powerful presence while many of the area's predominantly Sunni residents remained displaced and unable to return.
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