Security of power infrastructure in Iraq in question as Prime Minister al-Kadhimi visits Brussels

BRUSSELS — After his meeting with the Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels a few days ago, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi completed his series of visits by meeting with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

The meeting revolved around strengthening bilateral cooperation between Iraq and the European Union in several fields. Von der Leyen confirmed the Union’s determination to develop its partnership with Iraq, supporting it in implementing economic reforms, as well as holding free, fair, and competitive elections in October.

Al-Kadhimi discussed the possibility of removing Iraq’s name from the European list of countries involved in money laundering.

He also called on the institutions of the EU to fulfill their obligations that they had undertaken during the Kuwait Conference three years ago.

Al-Kadhimi’s visit comes at a time when the Iraqi security and intelligence forces continue to pursue cells of the Islamic State (ISIS) in the country. On Thursday, the Federal Intelligence Apparatus announced the arrests of a six-member terrorist network conducting logistical support for ISIS cells in Kirkuk Governorate.

The Apparatus stated that the network worked to provide logistical support and foodstuffs to terrorist hideouts and was also involved in terrorist operations.

In related news, media outlets reported a power outage in the national electricity network in all parts of Iraq, with the exception of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), without explaining the reasons for the interruption by the Iraqi government.

Recently, towers and power lines have been subjected to sabotage operations of unknown origin, which have caused power outages in some areas. It is suspected that ISIS is behind the attacks.

In this regard, the Joint Operations Command in Iraq announced the allocation of a financial reward for those who report any information about those who target the energy towers.