Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi, ordered the dismissal of Maysan Governorate’s police chief on Saturday, September 12, 2026, mounting an aggressive command-level purge following cross-border drone strikes that struck critical Saudi oil pipeline infrastructure.
The swift disciplinary directives were disclosed by the Military Spokesperson for the Commander-in-Chief, Major General Sabah Al-Noman, who confirmed that Al-Zaidi additionally mandated the immediate transfer of all provincial security agency directors to headquarters reserve pending exhaustive internal investigations into severe operational lapses within the southern governorate.
The sweeping shakeup in Maysan’s security hierarchy follows an official announcement from Riyadh confirming that the kingdom’s strategic East–West crude pipeline sustained drone attacks across segments located within the Riyadh and Medina regions.
Saudi authorities verified that the unmanned aerial systems originated from Iraqi territory, leaving multiple human casualties and physical damage along the energy network. Riyadh stated that it opted against immediate military retaliation at this stage in response to an explicit personal appeal by Prime Minister Al-Zaidi, who requested that Baghdad be granted the diplomatic space and operational window needed to execute decisive accountability measures on the ground, even as Saudi Arabia affirmed its full sovereign right to defend its territory, national security, and strategic facilities.
Al-Zaidi’s decision to remove the provincial police leadership deepens an ongoing institutional overhaul across Maysan, coming shortly after the Prime Minister dismissed the Commander of Maysan Operations and convened a military board of inquiry against the entire operational command.
The unprecedented sanctions were triggered by conclusive technical and intelligence findings confirming that the drones targeting the Saudi pipeline infrastructure were launched directly from launch sites situated within Maysan Governorate, compelling Baghdad to take assertive steps to preserve regional stability and enforce state command over its southern territorial boundaries.
