ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraq’s security media cell on Tuesday said it has located the launch platforms from which drones were fired towards Saudi Arabia, and that investigations are ongoing by an intelligence committee to identify the perpetrators.

The Saudi foreign ministry announced on Friday evening that the East-West oil pipeline in the Riyadh and Medina regions was attacked by several drones launched from Iraqi territory, resulting in injuries and limited material damage.

Following the strikes, “an intelligence committee was formed, and the platform from which the drones were launched inside Iraqi territory was discovered,” Saad Maan, head of Iraq’s security media cell, told state media on Tuesday.

Following the attacks, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi directed an investigation into the attack and removed the commander of Maysan’s operations from his post after confirming that the attacks targeting Saudi Arabia originated from the province.

Sabah al-Numan, spokesperson for Iraq’s Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, said earlier in the week that relevant authorities have located 15 drone-launch platforms.

“The investigation is ongoing and continuous, with the help of intelligence, technical, and forensic evidence, as well as fingerprints and other details related to completing the investigation to reach those who committed this act,” Maan added.

Although the investigation has yet to identify the perpetrators, suspicion initially fell on factions of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. The groups have threatened to attack Saudi Arabia in retaliation for the US-Saudi airstrikes on Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) positions across seven Iraqi provinces in late July that killed and injured dozens.

The Islamic Resistance denied involvement in the Friday attacks, saying that targeting vital facilities in Saudi Arabia was “an honor we do not claim,” and offered to participate in any government inquiry committee investigating the attack.

In exclusive interviews with The New Region, three Iran-backed Iraqi armed factions' commanders revealed that the recent drone strikes were carried out by a small armed group linked to a senior officer of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The East-West pipeline currently serves as an essential energy lifeline for Riyadh, allowing it to export up to 7 million barrels of crude oil per day amid the maritime restrictions that Iran has put on the Strait of Hormuz.

“Communication has been made with the Saudi side to understand the measures taken by the government,” Maan said, adding that “the focus is on the perpetrator.”