Baghdad: Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi dismissed the police chief of the southeastern Maysan province Saturday and ordered investigations into the directors of its security agencies following drone strikes on a major pipeline in Saudi Arabia. Military spokesman Sabah al-Numan stated that al-Zaidi, in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, had ordered the removal of the Maysan provincial police chief.

According to Anadolu Agency, the prime minister also ordered the directors of the province's security agencies to be transferred from their posts and referred for investigation. Al-Numan mentioned that the directives were issued due to recent security breaches in the province, though he did not specify their nature.

The measures were enacted just hours after al-Zaidi formed an investigative committee to assess the actions of the Maysan Operations Command and dismissed its commander. Al-Numan previously stated that the decision followed the discovery that attacks targeting Saudi Arabia had been launched from a location inside the province.

Baghdad has not yet announced the findings of its investigations or identified the perpetrators or their affiliations. Saudi Arabia reported Friday that several drones launched from Iraq had struck the East-West oil pipeline in the Riyadh and Medina regions, resulting in injuries and material damage.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry disclosed that the kingdom opted not to respond at this stage, following a request from the Iraqi prime minister. He asked for time to implement measures to prevent Iraqi territory from being used for attacks on Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries.