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Basra’s Largest Oil Smuggling Ring Captured

One of the demonstrations in the southern city of Basra (AFP)
One of the demonstrations in the southern city of Basra (AFP)
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Basra’s Largest Oil Smuggling Ring Captured

One of the demonstrations in the southern city of Basra (AFP)
One of the demonstrations in the southern city of Basra (AFP)

The largest network for smuggling oil byproducts in the province of Basra in southern Iraq has been shut down with the arrest of all 19 members of the crime ring.

Vehicles such as trucks and tanks used for smuggling by the group were also seized.

The ring was captured in Khor Al-Zubair city in Basra, a security source with knowledge of the matter told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Smuggling oil is supported and run by prominent Iraqi figures, partisan groups and militias and has been ongoing for years, the source said.

More dangerously, the source pointed out that arrested smugglers are being set free shortly after their capture as a result of pressure exerted by influential figures.

He fears that the 19-member ring will soon be released in the same fashion.

“There is a large market exploiting territorial waters to smuggle various goods, especially oil and drugs, waters which the state cannot control due to its limited capabilities and lack of adequate patrol boats,” the source added.

More so, the source mentioned that the smugglers are receiving security coverage from powerful officials.

“Smugglers use special gauges issued by the Ministry of Oil on oil tanks to slip by checkpoints without any trouble—tanks aren’t being inspected because they are presenting approvals issued by official bodies,” they explained.

On the other hand, the series of assassinations continues to shake up Basra province.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Basra Mahdi al-Tamimi confirmed the killing of two women on Friday evening, one of which runs a beauty salon.

Another young man, with no history of political activities or protesting, was also killed.

Protests broke out after a number of people were sickened by polluted water in Basra. Protests in Basra province first started in July, but little to nothing has been done to provide residents with fresh water.

At least four were killed, and two were wounded in the recent violence.

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Lebanon’s Supreme Defense Council Urges Hamas to Hand Over Suspects in Rocket Attacks

Lebanese Army personnel at the site of an Israeli strike targeting a militant group leader south of Beirut last week (AFP).
Lebanese Army personnel at the site of an Israeli strike targeting a militant group leader south of Beirut last week (AFP).
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Lebanon’s Supreme Defense Council Urges Hamas to Hand Over Suspects in Rocket Attacks

Lebanese Army personnel at the site of an Israeli strike targeting a militant group leader south of Beirut last week (AFP).
Lebanese Army personnel at the site of an Israeli strike targeting a militant group leader south of Beirut last week (AFP).

A senior Lebanese source has revealed that authorities will demand Hamas to hand over remaining individuals implicated in recent rocket attacks launched from Kfartebnit and Qaqaiyat al-Jisr—two towns located north of the Litani River, overlooking southern Lebanon—toward the Israeli settlements of Metula and Kiryat Shmona. The suspects are also believed to have stored rockets and launchers in a warehouse raided by the Lebanese Army, which seized several of the weapons, some prepared for imminent use.
The source told Asharq Al-Awsat that this demand will top the agenda of the first meeting of the Supreme Defense Council, scheduled for Friday and to be chaired by President Joseph Aoun.
The Council is also expected to discuss the security situation in southern Lebanon amid Beirut’s unilateral commitment to the ceasefire agreement, contrasted by what it views as Israel’s noncompliance. The session will further address recent incidents in which local residents blocked UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) from entering certain villages, citing the lack of coordination with the Lebanese Army. Additional topics include logistical, administrative, and security preparations by the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities ahead of the first round of municipal elections in Mount Lebanon this coming Sunday.
According to the source, the Lebanese Army’s intelligence directorate has, under judicial supervision, compiled a list of wanted Hamas members based on interrogations with detained suspects involved in the rocket attacks.
The source did not rule out the possibility that the suspects may have sought refuge in Palestinian refugee camps, particularly Ain al-Hilweh in southern Lebanon, where Hamas may be protecting them in neighborhoods controlled by extremist factions.
The source argued that Palestinian weapons have lost their original purpose of defending against Israeli attacks and are now largely used for internal conflict and endangering nearby communities.
Disarming Palestinian groups inside the camps, the source said, aligns with the insistence of both Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s government that all arms remain under the state’s authority. The matter is also expected to feature prominently in upcoming talks between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and Lebanese officials during his mid-month visit to Beirut.
On broader security concerns, the source noted that Lebanon is stepping up containment measures around the camps to prevent the militarization of nearby towns, especially those close to the Litani River.
Regarding Sunday’s Israeli airstrike on a warehouse in Beirut’s southern suburb, the source confirmed that the Lebanese Army had received no prior warning through the United States. Instead, Lebanese officials learned of the strike via media reports. This prompted Aoun to make urgent calls to several countries, including the US and France, which are considered guarantors of the ceasefire agreement. Subsequent information reportedly disproved Israel’s stated justification for the attack.