BAGHDAD, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Unknown gunmen detonated on Thursday 14 power transmission towers in the Salahudin province north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, a provincial police source said.
The attacks took place before dawn when the militants planted bombs in the towers and blew them up in different areas across the province, Colonel Mohammed al-Bazi told Xinhua.
The attacks on the power transmission towers led to an almost complete power outage in the province, al-Bazi said.
Accompanied by the Iraqi security forces, technical teams of the provincial electricity directorate rushed to the scenes to repair the towers, he added.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity said in a statement that unknown gunmen detonated two power transmission towers in the al-Nebai and Tarmiyah areas in the north of Baghdad.
Iraq has been witnessing a chronic power shortage since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
In July, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi held a meeting to discuss the attacks attempting to sabotage power stations and transmission towers in several provinces of the country, and directed the army to strengthen the protection of power transmission lines.