Drone Attack on Gas Field in Iraqi Kurdistan Leads to Widespread Power Outage

A drone attack on one of the largest gas fields in Iraq led to a temporary halt in production and widespread power outages across the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the drone attack on the 'Khur Mor' gas field in the Sulaymaniyah area, which occurred on Friday, February 25. According to 'Dana Gas,' the UAE operator managing the field, the attack damaged a liquefied gas reservoir but resulted in no casualties. The operation of the gas field was temporarily halted while the fire was extinguished, but production is expected to resume soon. The Ministry of Electricity of the Kurdistan region of Iraq stated that the attack resulted in a reduction of 2,800 megawatts of electricity. Alina Romanowski, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, condemned the attack, stating that this action 'has put millions at risk of power outages in the middle of winter.' Local officials reported that the power grid was completely cut off after the attack. 'Pearl Petroleum,' a consortium of Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum, holds the rights to exploit 'Khur Mor' and 'Khamchamal,' two major gas fields in Iraq. Since the onset of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Iraq has witnessed daily missile and drone attacks, primarily targeting U.S.-led coalition military bases. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a group of hardline militants supportive of the Islamic Republic, claims responsibility for these attacks. In a separate incident, the region's counter-terrorism service announced that on Thursday, a drone filled with explosives, intending to attack U.S. forces at a base near Erbil Airport in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, was shot down by air defenses.