Iraqi PM sacks nine officials over oil smuggling in Iran-backed militia stronghold

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Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi dismissed nine security and oil-sector officials Saturday after an investigation confirmed oil smuggling in Jurf al-Sakhar, a stronghold of the…

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi dismissed nine security and oil-sector officials Saturday after an investigation confirmed oil smuggling in Jurf al-Sakhar, a stronghold of the Iran-backed Kataeb Hezbollah militia.

His military spokesman, Sabah al-Numan, said the prime minister ordered all suspects involved in the smuggling operations to be referred to the judiciary following an emergency security meeting to review the investigation's findings.

The dismissed officials include Babil province's police chief, several senior intelligence and security officers, the provincial commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces, an Energy Police brigade commander and the head of Iraq's oil pipeline company.

According to the statement, investigators confirmed intelligence reports documenting oil smuggling, the presence of refineries and other irregularities in Jurf al-Sakhar, south of Baghdad.

The dismissals come amid growing tensions between al-Zaidi's government and Kataeb Hezbollah, one of Iraq's most powerful Iran-backed armed groups, which has resisted the prime minister's efforts to bring militia weapons under state control.

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