Iraq sacks commander over drone attacks on Saudi Arabia

Baghdad: Ali al-Zaidi, Iraq’s Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, dismissed the Maysan Operations Commander on Saturday after authorities confirmed attacks targeting Saudi Arabia had been launched from a site in Maysan province in southern Iraq.

Al-Zaidi also ordered an investigation into the Maysan Operations Command by forming a special investigative council, Sabah al-Numan, spokesman for the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, said in a statement.

The move came after the Iraqi government late Friday condemned the attacks on Saudi Arabia, saying it rejected “any aggression that threatens the Kingdom’s security and stability,” Xinhua News Agency reported.

The Iraqi government appreciated Saudi Arabia’s response to Baghdad’s efforts to contain the situation, Al-Numan said. “The state will not tolerate any activity that endangers Iraq or its relations with brotherly and friendly countries.”

Iraq also reaffirmed that its territory and airspace would “not be used as a launching point for attacks against any country,” and that its policy is based on respecting the sovereignty of states.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry said Friday that its East-West Pipeline was attacked by several drones launched from Iraq, causing injuries and damage.

Condemning the attacks in a statement, the ministry noted that at the request of the Iraqi prime minister, the kingdom had refrained from responding at this stage.

Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in the East-West Pipeline, which carries crude oil from its eastern fields to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.

In July, US and Saudi Arabian forces carried out precision airstrikes against Iran-aligned groups in eastern Iraq (local time) after more than 30 drone attacks targeted American troops and Saudi energy infrastructure, the US Central Command said.

US and Saudi fighter aircraft struck several logistics and weapons sites used by the groups, according to CENTCOM. It described the operation as a response to aerial attacks conducted over the previous 72 hours under the direction of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“The unwarranted attacks against US forces were not successful,” CENTCOM said.
IANS