The Iraqi Ministry of Electricity announced today, Saturday, a new sabotage explosion that targeted the electricity transmission towers between East Baghdad and Diyala, which operates at 400 kilovolts. The Iraqi News Agency “WAA” reported a statement from the ministry, stating that the explosion occurred in the Khan Bani Saad area. Meanwhile, electrical teams are working to combat these destructive operations and prevent the perpetrators from damaging the electrical grid and cutting power to citizens.
The statement mentioned that the saboteurs aim to blow up the towers using explosive devices, with the objective of cutting communications and isolating provinces from each other. They managed to detonate the power transmission line between East Baghdad and Diyala at eight-thirty in the evening, by planting explosives under the towers.
For his part, Iraqi Electricity Minister Ziad Ali Fadhil ordered the dispatch of engineering and technical teams to repair the damage, rebuild the affected facilities, and secure the electricity supply to citizens via alternative lines until the towers are restored as soon as possible. The area was secured by security and military forces to allow electrical teams to reach the incident site and begin repair work. Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa Al-Sudani stressed the importance of securing and protecting the electricity infrastructure to the utmost extent.
Earlier, the spokesperson for the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity, Ahmed Musa, revealed last Thursday the reasons for the fire at the Al-Bakr station in Basra Governorate, after an investigative committee was formed by the directive of the Minister of Electricity to analyze the causes and reveal the exact details of the incident. The “WAA” agency quoted Musa as saying that the fire occurred due to a malfunction in one of the electrical transformers due to unprecedented electrical loads and high temperatures in the region.
