Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi postponed a plan to storm Jurf al-Sakhar, a stronghold of Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah about 60 kilometers (37 miles) southwest of Baghdad, after a senior military commander leaked details of the operation to leaders of the ruling Coordination Framework and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), Iraqi security sources told MBN.
The sources declined to identify the military commander, saying only that he held a senior rank and was not authorized to speak publicly.
The standoff tests whether Baghdad can move against a faction Washington designates as a terrorist organization. The government has been trying to cut off Kataib Hezbollah’s economic resources, and an Interior Ministry intelligence report, details of which MBN disclosed on Monday, documented the theft of oil from Oil Ministry pipelines in the town since 2021.
The sources, who were involved in the government committee tasked with preparing the plan, said it called for three military brigades to enter the town after a comprehensive security cordon had been established around it to prevent smuggling operations. Everyone entering or leaving the area would also be subject to inspection.
The operation was scheduled to begin early Friday morning. But after details of the plan were leaked, leaders in the Coordination Framework, the ruling Shiite alliance, and the Popular Mobilization Forces Authority pressured al-Zaidi late Thursday to call off the operation in a series of phone calls that continued until dawn Friday, the sources said.
They added that Kataib Hezbollah used the delay to conceal evidence of its smuggling operations, as well as facilities at factories in the town and its storage depots.
On Friday afternoon, investigators looking into the alleged oil smuggling entered Jurf al-Sakhar with Federal Police units, after waiting at the town’s entrance for military reinforcements. The office of the commander in chief of the armed forces had appointed them.
Videos circulated on social media in recent hours showing security forces massing near Jurf al-Sakhar. The deployment included units from the Counter-Terrorism Service, special forces, the army and the Federal Police.
Meanwhile, bloggers close to armed factions posted videos showing Kataib Hezbollah fighters preparing for a confrontation.
The buildup followed an order by the prime minister to investigate the Interior Ministry report, which said the oil was taken through holes drilled into the pipelines, makeshift refineries and concealed underground storage pits.
Kataib Hezbollah has controlled Jurf al-Sakhar, which was renamed Jurf al-Nasr, since recapturing it from the Islamic State in October 2014. Residents have not been allowed to return since then, and the town has remained closed to state institutions for more than a decade.
Babil Governor Ali Turki denied that there were any oil-smuggling sites in the town but resigned on Thursday after his remarks became public.
On Tuesday, Abu Mujahid al-Assaf, a security official with Kataib Hezbollah, threatened the prime minister, saying al-Zaidi would bear “full responsibility” for any strike targeting the group’s positions or those of the Popular Mobilization Forces.
Iraqi intelligence sources told MBN on Nov. 7 that military commanders and intelligence reports suggested al-Zaidi could be facing an armed confrontation with Kataib Hezbollah from the prime minister’s efforts to cut off the group’s economic resources. The sources said the group views him as an executor of an American agenda.
At the time, a source in the office of a senior Coordination Framework leader told MBN that the alliance was divided over how al-Zaidi should deal with Kataib Hezbollah, given fears of an armed clash.
The Iraqi government has not officially announced the planned operation or explained why it was postponed. It also remains unclear how far into the town investigators have been able to enter, or whether the forces assembled around it will remain in their positions.
