ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — One terrorist was killed by security forces in Diyala province as he was trying to blow up electricity pylons on Wednesday morning, Iraqi’s Security Media Cell has said.
Security forces set up an ambush in the area of al-Kifah while the terrorist was trying to plant explosive devices to detonate two electricity pylons, according to a statement from the cell on Telegram.
“After the successive defeats of ISIS (Islamic State) terrorist gangs, these gangs are trying to damage the electric pylons, but the vigilance of the security forces, field efforts and intelligence work enabled the security services to thwart a number of attempts," it added.
The attack comes a week after Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi ordered security forces to redouble efforts to protect transmission towers amid an increase in suspected ISIS attacks on Iraq's electricity sector.
Several attacks on electricity towers have been reported in the past months, mostly in the disputed territories where ISIS has exploited a security vacuum.
Earlier this month, the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity said that a major power line in Kirkuk governorate was out of service after an act of “sabotage,” with an explosive device detonating near two electricity pylons.
A similar incident occurred in March.
Earlier in June, spokesperson from Iraq’s electricity ministry told Rudaw English that explosive devices have hampered electricity lines in Mosul and Diyala, affecting areas across the country, including the capital Baghdad.
The power outages caused by such attacks has exacerbated problems for civilians who are already dealing with soaring temperatures in a year of drought and water shortages.
Iraq’s Minister of Electricity has submitted his resignation, a ministry spokesperson confirmed to Rudaw on Tuesday, days after prominent Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr demanded his dismissal, starting a Twitter campaign protesting the power shortage across Iraq.
There was a complete blackout in the southern Iraqi provinces of Muthanna, Maysan, Dhi Qar and Basra on Tuesday Iraqi state media (INA) reported.
Iraq has long suffered from chronic outages and electricity shortages in a country where summer temperatures reach over 50 degrees Celsius. Such shortages have in past years been a rallying call for protesters, most notably in the summer of 2018.
