Iraq PM Accuses ‘Terrorists’ of Targeting Electricity Poles

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. Reuters
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. Reuters
TT
20

Iraq PM Accuses ‘Terrorists’ of Targeting Electricity Poles

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. Reuters
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. Reuters

The Iraqi government announced on Thursday the use of drones to protect power towers, which were recently targeted with the onset of rising temperatures.

Over the past two years, drones were used by pro-Iranian armed factions to target US forces, or by unknown parties targeting brigades, headquarters, and figures affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces.

However, with the sharp rise in temperatures in Iraq, terrorists, as described by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, began attacking transmission towers, which led to a sharp decline in power supply.

During a meeting of the national security ministerial council, Kadhimi announced his government’s success in providing power, but he mentioned "a repeated and intentional targeting of electrical towers in a number of provinces that affects the hours of supply.”

In an attempt to limit the targeting of energy towers, the Iraqi government is using drones to protect the towers and identify the parties behind the attacks.

Political observers did not rule out a role by ISIS.

Meanwhile, the Federal Intelligence and Investigations Agency in the Ministry of Interior announced the arrest of nine terrorists, including a woman, in Kirkuk.

Those were detained pursuant to arrest warrants against them under the provisions of Article 4 of the Anti-Terrorism Law, the statement said.



Rescuers Say Israeli Strike Killed at Least 12 People in South Gaza 

Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli airstrike on a tent sheltering displaced people at the Gaza seaport, in Gaza City, June 4, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli airstrike on a tent sheltering displaced people at the Gaza seaport, in Gaza City, June 4, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
20

Rescuers Say Israeli Strike Killed at Least 12 People in South Gaza 

Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli airstrike on a tent sheltering displaced people at the Gaza seaport, in Gaza City, June 4, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli airstrike on a tent sheltering displaced people at the Gaza seaport, in Gaza City, June 4, 2025. (Reuters)

The civil defense agency in Gaza said an Israeli strike on a tent housing displaced Palestinians near the southern city of Khan Younis on Wednesday killed at least 12 people.  

"At least 12 people were killed, including several children and women, in a strike by an Israeli drone this morning on a tent for displaced persons" near Khan Younis, the agency's spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP, adding that four more people had been killed in other strikes.  

The Israeli army did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.  

Since a truce collapsed in March, Israel has intensified its operations to destroy Hamas, the Palestinian group whose October 7, 2023 attack triggered the war in Gaza. 

Hamas's unprecedented attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. 

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 4,240 people have been killed in the territory since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 54,510, mostly civilians.