ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq expects to have the results of its investigation into the attack on Khor Mor gas field within 72 hours, a military spokesperson told Rudaw on Friday as a joint delegation from Baghdad and Erbil visited the site.
“A committee headed by [Interior Minister] Abdul-Amir Shammari, with members including the head of the intelligence agency and the interior minister of the Kurdistan Region, and with the support of the global coalition, is investigating the attack on Khor Mor field,” said Sabah al-Numan, spokesperson for the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
A technical committee, including experts from the Joint Operations Command, are assisting with the investigation, he added, saying the results are expected in 72 hours.
A drone attack targeted a storage tank at the Khor Mor gas field late on Wednesday night, causing a blaze that took several hours to be brought under control. The attack also caused a widespread power outage. The incident has been widely condemned and labeled as a terrorist attack. Kurdish officials have called on Baghdad to find the perpetrators and hold them responsible.
Located in the Chamchamal district of Sulaimani province, the Khor Mor gas field is operated by Pearl Petroleum, a consortium that includes UAE-based Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum. The site has been repeatedly targeted by Katyusha rockets and drones, attacks Kurdish authorities attribute to Iran-backed Iraqi militias.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Thursday chaired an emergency security meeting and decided to form a high-level committee to probe the attack. He has also spoken on the phone with the Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.
The United States embassy in Baghdad offered its help to protect the gas field as it is vital infrastructure.
“We are prepared to lend support to efforts to protect this critical infrastructure, and we will continue to underscore the importance of Iraq asserting its sovereignty in the face of attempts to undermine it, and ensuring all weapons, especially drones, missiles, and rockets, are brought under state control,” the embassy said in a strongly worded statement on Thursday.
No group has claimed responsibility.
Previous investigations into attacks on the Kurdistan Region’s energy sector have not made the identity of perpetrators public. Erbil’s Interior Ministry on Thursday accused Baghdad of failing to act against armed groups responsible for these attacks, despite Erbil providing evidence identifying those involved. The ministry said federal inaction has emboldened militias to continue targeting key facilities, noting that recent drone launches originated from areas under federal control.
In a detailed statement, the ministry said that between June 15 and July 25, the Region’s oil fields were hit by “unmanned drone attacks, causing significant material and financial damage.” A joint Erbil–Baghdad committee, which included key intelligence agencies, identified those responsible, but “more than two months after the report was submitted, the federal government has not taken any legal or security measures against the criminals,” it said.
Kurdish officials say the Region’s oil and gas infrastructure has been attacked dozens of times in recent years, typically by militia factions formally tied to Iraq’s security apparatus but operating outside the government’s authority.