Iraqi authorities on Saturday confirmed that the drone attacks targeting Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline were launched from a site in Maysan province in southern Iraq, prompting the government to dismiss the province’s senior military operations commander.
Sabah Al-Nu’man, spokesman for the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, said Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief Ali Falih Al-Zaidi ordered an investigative council to examine the Maysan Operations Command.
Al-Nu’man said the commander of the Maysan Operations Command was removed from his post after it was established that the attacks targeting Saudi Arabia were launched from a location inside the province.
Saudi Arabia said on Friday that it had temporarily suspended the East-West pipeline as a precaution after several drones coming from Iraqi territory targeted the pipeline in the Riyadh and Madinah regions on Thursday. The Saudi Ministry of Energy said the attacks caused injuries and led to the temporary shutdown of the pipeline as a safety measure.
Saudi Arabia also said it had decided not to respond to the attacks at this stage following a request from the Iraqi prime minister, giving Baghdad an opportunity to take measures to prevent further attacks from Iraqi territory against Saudi Arabia and other neighboring countries.
