Iraqi security forces foiled a sabotage attempt with a bomb attack at the Badra oil field, arresting a suspect after finding components for an improvised explosive device (IED) in the trunk of his vehicle, as reported by Rai Al-Youm on July 21 and rebroadcast by SouthFront.
During initial interrogation, the suspect told investigators that he was acting under the instructions of a foreign national, who reportedly paid him $2,000 to carry out the attack.
An examination of the correspondence between the two men established that the suspect had been offered an IED to place near one of Iraq's oil fields.
Digital forensic examination traced the account used in the exchange to a phone number registered in Ukraine.
The suspect stated additionally that he had been recruited through a specialized online chat room that he joined while searching for work, and that through this channel the foreign contact lured him into the plot.
The investigation remains open as authorities work to ascertain the full circumstances of the case, according to the published report.
The choice of target has attracted particular attention: Badra is one of the fields in which Russian Gazprom Neft holds a stake of nearly 30%.
Located in Iraq's eastern Wasit province, near the border with Iran, the Badra field has a production capacity of approximately 60,000 barrels per day.
Although modest by the standards of the country's giant southern fields, it remains a strategically notable asset for its role in the country's broader energy production.
Coming amid a wave of intensified Ukrainian strikes on energy infrastructure across Russian territory, the plot thwarted in Iraq suggests that the secret services of the Kyiv regime may already be expanding sabotage operations against Russian oil and gas assets in third countries.
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