The 400 kV transmission line of the Mosul Dam was targeted by explosives, leading to the fall of three transmission towers, said the General Company for Northern Electricity Transmission, an affiliate of the Iraqi Electricity Ministry, in a statement on Monday. It revealed that the incident also caused damage to the power supply lines feeding Al-Mazmalat area west of Nineveh. The northern electric power transmission system in the governorates Nineveh, Kirkuk and Salahuddin were exposed during the past week to the bombing of tower No. 20, which led to the suspension of several lines and weakness in the processing and stability of electrical energy in the northern region. In recent weeks, the frequency of attacks with explosive devices on electric power transmission lines has increased in the northern, western and eastern provinces, which has exacerbated the electricity crisis in the country. Iraqi authorities accused militants from the Daesh group (so-called Islamic State) of being behind most of the attacks. Authorities also stated that three power lines and electricity transmission towers were blown up by rebels in northern Iraq, leading to disturbance in the grid. The explosions also damaged another six electricity towers in the northern province, stated the firm in a report. Over the past few days, electricity transmission has been the targets of attacks in the northern provinces of Salahuddin, Diyala and Kirkuk. On Friday, Iraq's Electricity Ministry said they managed to restart work in the power grid after hours of disruption following attacks on the electricity lines in Salahuddin and Diyala. "It seems that the series of explosions in the transmission towers are aimed at cutting off the national power grid among the provinces, stopping the projects of the Ministry of Electricity, and depleting its capabilities," it said. Following the outages and disruptions, Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi announced the formation of a crisis unit to address power shortages and approved the resignations of Electricity Minister Majid Hantoosh and director of the electricity transmission company in southern Iraq, Ahmed Khairy. — Agencies
