Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi on Wednesday ordered an investigation into reports of petroleum products being siphoned from pipelines and smuggled, in an area under the control of an Iran-backed militias.
The Interior Ministry’s Federal Intelligence and Investigations Agency this week issued a report of smuggling activities in Jurf Al Sakhar, a sprawling agricultural area south of Baghdad, which is under the control of Kataib Hezbollah.
Mr Al Zaidi ordered an investigative committee that includes representatives of the Federal Police, Energy Police, General Directorate of Security and Discipline, Federal Intelligence and Investigations Agency, Popular Mobilisation Forces and Federal Integrity Commission.
Based on satellite imagery from 2021 to 2026, the agency's report documented the illegal extraction near the pipelines. It identified four sites where large tankers, each with a capacity of 36,000 litres, repeatedly appeared.
The report said the sites are under the control and protection of "an armed faction", without identifying it, and outlined three possible routes for moving the oil products towards Baghdad province.
Jurf Al Sakhar was one of the main strongholds for Sunni militant groups such as Al Qaeda in Iraq after the US-led invasion of 2003. It came under the control of the insurgents in June 2014, but they were driven out a few months later by security forces.
Since then it has remained largely closed to outsiders, with many former residents still displaced, and is widely described as a Kataib Hezbollah stronghold.
Thousands of Sunnis who fled the town during the ISIS reign have been unable to return, despite appeals by Sunni politicians.
The investigation comes amid growing tension between the Mr Al Zaidi and Iran-backed militias. Since taking office in May, he has sought to assert the authority of the state over armed factions operating outside of formal command.
The initial plan was to begin bringing their weapons under state control by September 30, when the US-led anti-ISIS coalition left Iraq. But the government is facing tough resistance from influential groups. The deadline has been pushed back to June 30, 2027 at the earliest.
Only two prominent pro-Tehran armed groups, Asaib Ahl Al Haq and Kataib Imam Ali, alongside cleric Moqtada Al Sadr’s Saraya Al Salam faction, claim to have placed their weapons under state authority.
But hardline factions – mainly Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba – say they will not disarm and are publicly challenging the government.
Meanwhile, the Integrity Commission has opened an investigation on smuggling crude oil from fields in the northern province of Kirkuk and the Kurdistan Region by tankers to Iran and Afghanistan.
Tapping into pipelines and smuggling crude and petroleum products are among Iraq's oldest issues since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.
