Yakoota Al Ahmad and Mohammad Sio
13 November 2026•Update: 13 November 2026
Iraq has established a specialized security force to combat oil smuggling and theft and protect its pipeline network, alongside additional measures to tighten security at oil fields and monitor facilities, an official said Friday.
Lt. Gen. Hamid al-Husseini, director general of Iraq’s Energy Police, told the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) that violations were not limited to crude oil pipelines but extended to the country’s wider pipeline network.
He said security forces had recently detected attempts to illegally tap pipelines in southern Basra province using advanced sensors and monitoring old valves.
Al-Husseini said a new “anti-smuggling and theft force” had been established in the southern region under his direct command.
The unit will patrol vast desert areas to protect pipeline networks stretching across the region, he added.
According to al-Husseini, security forces thwarted three attempts to install illegal valves to steal oil at the Subba oil field in southern Dhi Qar province.
Strengthening security at oil fields
Al-Husseini said he had also ordered the redeployment of commando forces, placing them directly under unit commanders to serve as mobile support units for major oil fields.
The measures cover the North and South Rumaila, Subba, Gharraf and Al-Ahdab oil fields, aiming to strengthen security at facilities and along oil transportation networks.
He said violations targeting oil pipelines had dropped by as much as 90% following measures introduced by the Energy Police to combat smuggling and theft.
Additional measures include establishing restricted areas and tightening surveillance of the pipeline network, he added.
Probe into suspected smuggling in Babil
The announcement comes as the Iraqi government investigates allegations of petroleum-product smuggling in the Jurf al-Nasr area of central Babil province.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ordered the formation of a high-level committee to conduct a comprehensive investigation into reports of smuggling operations in the area.
The decision followed reports by local media outlets, including Shafaq News, citing a 19-page technical intelligence report alleging oil smuggling from Jurf al-Nasr since 2021.
According to Shafaq News, the report raised suspicions that pipelines had been punctured and that tankers and facilities were being used to illegally store and transport oil.
Babil Gov. Ali Turki al-Jamali submitted his resignation Thursday, a day after the investigative committee was established, without providing a reason.
Al-Jamali had denied the smuggling allegations Tuesday, saying the site at the center of the reports was an old fuel station used to supply vehicles belonging to the Popular Mobilization Forces and federal police.
The government investigative committee arrived in Jurf al-Nasr on Friday to begin its work, according to INA.