ISIS claimed it destroyed 68 electricity towers in cities across Iraq, mainly in areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad, as well as in the north and west.
“The previous attacks targeted the electricity sector, including towers, transmission lines, generators, voltage transformers, and others. The mujahedeen [ISIS fighters] also expanded their target area to include the oil sector,” al-Nabaa quoted a militant saying.
He also threated Iraq’s water infrastructure.
Recent attacks on electricity pylons contributed to a blackout that left millions in the centre and south of the country without power during a heat wave.
ISIS said they started a 35-day operation against electricity lines on 6 June, destroying more than 15 towers a week and threatened “there will be more coming.”
On Sunday, a military spokesperson said at least 44 electricity pylons have been targets of recent terror attacks. Security forces in Diyala province killed one suspected terrorist as he was trying to blow up electricity pylons on Monday.
“ISIS terrorist organization seeks to create panic through targeting these power lines,” Major General Tahsin al-Khafaji told state media on Sunday.
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 electricity towers.
Iraq suffers from chronic electricity shortages, keenly felt when summer temperatures reach over 50 degrees Celsius, 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.
The United States defense department estimates there are 10,000 ISIS fighters operating in Iraq and Syria. In Iraq, ISIS exploits security gaps between Iraqi and Kurdish forces and its fighters “operate in small, mobile cells that primarily conduct simple hit-and-run attacks,” targeting “infrastructure, security and military positions, and civilians,” the Pentagon said in its latest report on operation against ISIS, released in May.
In its propaganda magazine, ISIS claimed it conducted 44 attacks in Iraq from July 1 to 8, killing and injuring 62 people.
