Babil governor denies oil smuggling in Jurf Al-Sakhr

Shafaq News- Babil

Babil Governor Ali Turki on Tuesday denied reports of oil smuggling in Jurf Al-Sakhr (Jurf Al-Nasr), saying no oil pipeline runs through the area and calling the allegations a "shameful" attempt to target the security forces stationed there.

Turki made the remarks during an unannounced evening tour of the area with journalists, during which, he said, they used GPS coordinates visible in an image aired by some media outlets to locate the site in question. "It turned out to be an old fuel station named Al-Madina Al-Munawwara," he said.

Officials had confirmed before the visit that there had been no fluctuation in pipeline supplies, the governor added, noting that the pipelines in question are not part of the network feeding the Al-Musayyib power station and lie outside the area.

According to Turki, the tanker trucks at the station have been abandoned there since before 2012. The station resumed operations about four years ago and is used by Federal Police and Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) units in the area to refuel their vehicles, with only two workers present during the visit.

The governor did not address other images of the area circulated online.

Located about 60 kilometers southwest of Baghdad, Jurf Al-Sakhr has remained largely closed to outsiders since it was retaken from ISIS in 2014, with PMF factions retaining significant influence and many former residents still displaced.

Read more: Satellite report flags suspected oil smuggling in Iraq’s Jurf al-Sakhr