SAEDNEWS: Drone Strike on Iraq’s Khor Mor Gasfield Sparks Fire, Cuts Power to Over 70% of Kurdistan Region
According to Saednews, The attack occurred on Sunday night in the Sulaimaniyah governorate. Footage verified by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency, Sanad, showed smoke and flames rising from the area surrounding the targeted facility.
The identity of those responsible for the attack remains unknown.
According to Omid Ahmed, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministry of Electricity, the strike disrupted gas supplies to power plants in Erbil, Sulaimaniyah, Bazian, Chamchamal and Duhok, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported.
Ahmed said the attack removed between 2,500 and 2,800 megawatts of electricity generation capacity from the grid, significantly reducing power supplies across the region.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera correspondent Peter Smith, reporting from Baghdad, cited security sources as saying that a drone carrying explosives had struck the gas storage facility, reducing the capacity of the regional electricity grid by between 70 and 80 percent.
Following the disruption, the Ministry of Electricity announced that it would prioritize electricity supplies to essential facilities, including hospitals and water treatment plants. To maintain these services, authorities planned to operate hydroelectric stations and other power plants capable of using alternative fuels.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said preliminary assessments indicated that no casualties had been reported, according to INA.
Al-Zaidi also ordered the establishment of a joint investigative committee, including relevant authorities from the Kurdistan Region, to investigate the circumstances and identify those responsible for the attack.
The latest incident follows a similar drone attack on the same gasfield in November last year. At that time, the facility was also targeted, although no group claimed responsibility for the strike.
