Iraq PM Dismisses Nine Officials Over Oil Smuggling in Kataib Hezbollah Bastion

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi dismissed nine senior security and administrative officials and ordered suspects referred to the judiciary after an official investigation confirmed widespread oil smuggling in Jurf al-Nasr, a heavily militarized zone in Babil province where the Iran-backed faction Kataib Hezbollah wields considerable influence.

According to a statement from his office, al-Zaidi removed the officials following an emergency security meeting convened to review the investigative committee's report. Those relieved of duty include the Babil police commander, the North Babil police director, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) commander in Babil, the provincial national security director, the director of the Babil intelligence service, 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, Rudaw reported.

Military spokesperson Sabah al-Numan told the state-run Iraqi News Agency that al-Zaidi ordered "all individuals accused of involvement in oil smuggling operations be referred to the judiciary," Al Jazeera reported.

Leaked intelligence report

The dismissals followed a widening political controversy sparked when Iraqi media 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. Citing an unnamed source, INA confirmed the authenticity of the report, saying 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.

Al Jazeera's Peter Smith, reporting from Baghdad, said two strategic oil pipelines south of Baghdad "had effectively been tapped into," with an operation worth up to $30 million monthly. He described the area as having "effectively been run as a state within a state until now."

Al-Zaidi established the high-level investigative committee on Thursday, appointing Sheikh Ali al-Zaidi, director general of the PMF Security and Discipline Directorate, to lead the probe. The allegations also prompted a separate parliamentary inquiry, with Parliament Speaker Haibat al-Halbousi ordering a temporary committee. The prime minister said "not a single inch of Iraq will remain where smuggling is practiced, from Zakho to Basra," and directed that operations commanders and security chiefs bear full responsibility for smuggling in their sectors.