Attack on Iraq gas complex disrupts supply to region’s power plants, authorities say

An Emirati-owned gas complex in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region was attacked on Sunday, disrupting the gas supply to the region’s power plants, local Kurdish authorities said.

“At 11pm, the Khor Mor gas field came under a terrorist attack,” the regional natural resources and electricity authorities said in a statement, without elaborating.

A Kurdish security source told Agence France-Presse that an “explosive-laden drone” hit the field.

The Khor Mor complex, which supplies most of Kurdistan’s power stations and is owned by the United Arab Emirates firm Dana Gas, has been hit several times in recent years.

Omed Ahmed, the regional electricity authority spokesman, said the attack on Khor Mor halted the gas supply.

Authorities said they were taking all necessary measures to reduce the impact of the attack on the region’s power grid.

Employees at the field were evacuated to shelters inside the facility following the attack, two electricity ministry sources said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

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Long-plagued by conflict, Iraq frequently suffers such attacks.

For years, the Kurdistan region has repeatedly been targeted by rocket and drone strikes mostly against its oilfields, and local authorities have previously blamed Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups.

During the war in the Middle East, it became a frequent target for such attacks carried out by Iran or its allied Iraqi armed groups.

Washington has long pressured Iraq to disarm Iran-backed groups.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, who came to power this year with the United States’ blessing, has vowed to ensure that armed factions hand over their weapons to the state.

Iraq has been among the countries ⁠most affected by Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Traffic in the ⁠strait remains disrupted as ships continue to face attacks in the area.

Baghdad has been striving to balance its ties with neighbouring Iran and the US ‌amid the military escalation between ‌the two countries.