Terror attacks damage 13 electricity towers: Iraqi ministry

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Attacks on power lines damaged 13 electricity towers in three provinces in the past 48 hours, Iraq’s electricity ministry said on Thursday.

“Terrorist acts targeting power transmission lines in Salahaddin, Kirkuk and Nineveh governorates caused damage to 13 towers within 48 hours,” the ministry stated.

A Kirkuk power line was targeted with explosive devices on Wednesday evening, damaging five towers and cutting off electricity transmission between Kirkuk and Nineveh provinces. The ministry also reported attacks in Samarra and Tikrit.

“It seems that the subversive terrorist elements have gone too far by targeting power transmission lines, aimed at stopping the projects of the Ministry of Electricity and shutting down the national system and separating the provinces from each other, which is an obvious plot and will be resolutely addressed as subversives are not tolerated,” the ministry said.

Iraq suffers from chronic electricity shortages, especially felt when summer temperatures reach over 50 degrees Celsius. This is caused by multiple factors, including poor government delivery of services, rampant corruption, terror attacks on the power grid, and Iran’s recent cuts of electricity and gas exports because of unpaid bills.

Attacks earlier this summer on electricity pylons contributed to a blackout that left millions in central and southern Iraq without power during a heat wave.

The Islamic State group (ISIS) has claimed dozens of attacks on Iraq’s electricity grid and threatened other vital infrastructure and Iraqi security forces said they thwarted several other attempts.

“ISIS terrorist organization seeks to create panic through targeting these power lines,” spokesperson for the Joint Operations Command, Major-General Tahsin al-Khafaji, said on July 4.

Khafaji added that a joint operations cell between security forces and the electricity ministry had been formed to strategize how to protect the power lines. A force drawing from the army, police, and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF or Hashd al-Shaabi) has also been formed to protect the grid.

“ISIS probably views infrastructure as a soft target; the attacks require minimal resources and personnel, but the resulting electricity disruptions garner attention and undermine the Iraqi government,” the United States Pentagon said in its latest report on operations against ISIS, released this week. 

During a visit to the electricity ministry in July, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said there is no quick solution to electricity shortages.