ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A fire broke out on Monday along a natural gas pipeline running from Iraq’s northern Salahaddin province to Kirkuk, forcing the suspension of gas flow. While early reports point to a technical malfunction, security officials have not ruled out the possibility of sabotage.
In a statement posted on its official Facebook page, Iraq’s Ministry of Oil quoted the North Oil Company (NOC) as stating that the “fire” that ignited on the “natural gas pipeline stretching from the Ajil [oil] field [northeast of Salahaddin] to the North Oil Company facilities has been extinguished.”
Of note, the NOC is a regional subsidiary of Iraq’s state-owned oil sector that operates primarily in the Kirkuk region and in other areas north of Iraq.
The NOC explained that its technical and engineering teams, in coordination with the Civil Defense Directorate in Kirkuk, immediately began working to contain the flames, and that “the site was safely secured without any reported human casualties.”
The company added that inspections and repairs are currently underway at the site of the incident to ensure the prompt resumption of natural gas flow through the affected pipeline.
Rudaw’s correspondent in Kirkuk reported that “an explosion” occurred at the pipeline, specifically near the strategic al-Fatha area, south of Salahaddin and close to the Kirkuk provincial border
Hardi Mohammed added that the blast was likely caused by a technical malfunction during pipeline maintenance, noting that the gas supply was immediately cut off at the source soon after to contain the flames.
Security sources from the North Oil Police, a force tasked with protecting energy infrastructure in northern Iraq, said the explosion took place near the village of al-Muradiyah, south of Kirkuk’s Hawija district. While a malfunction is the leading theory, the possibility of sabotage has not been dismissed.
Importantly, the area where the explosion occurred is known for intermittent activity by remnants of the Islamic State (ISIS).
On Sunday, the Iraqi defense ministry announced the killing of ISIS “Wali [top commander] in Kirkuk, along with other senior commanders” from the group.
A statement from the ministry explained that the ISIS militants were taken out in a “precise airstrike” carried out based on information and surveillance from drones, to destroy an ISIS hideout.
The Iraqi defense ministry added that seven bodies were found at the site of the strike, including that of the “Wali [governor] of Hawija.”
Additionally, the Iraqi Army’s Joint Operations Command had announced on Friday that seven suicide bombers wearing explosive belts were killed in an airstrike in the region between Salahaddin and Kirkuk.
ISIS captured vast swathes of northern and western Iraq in 2014. The group was declared territorially defeated in 2017, but it continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions.
These militants remain active in a belt of land spanning Salahaddin, Diyala, Kirkuk, and Nineveh, which is plagued by a security vacuum due to ongoing disputes between Baghdad and Erbil.
Nonetheless, Kurdish and Iraqi security forces continue to collaborate on joint security operations in disputed territories to combat ISIS cells.
