ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Gas production at the Khor Mor field west of Sulaimani came to a halt late Sunday night after an unknown projectile struck the facility’s gas storage unit, causing significant damage, according to a Rudaw reporter on the ground.
A source confirmed the attack to Rudaw’s Peshawa Bakhtyar but couldn’t determine whether the attack came from an attack drone or a rocket, adding that the strike has caused a “massive fire” in the field.
A security source separately told Bakhtyar that the attack was launched from the disputed town of Tuz Khurmatu south of Kirkuk.
According to the source, the strike hit Khor Mor’s warehouse and truck loading unit, which stores nearly 1.5 thousand tons of cooking gas through 170 oil tankers.
Meanwhile, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) electricity ministry said its electricity generation capacity will drop by 2,800 megawatts after the field went offline.
At the same time,Telegram channels affiliated with Iraqi pro-Iran armed groups - which have previously been accused of striking Khor Mor - said the attack was carried out using a “suicide drone.”
The attack came after nearly a four-month lull in attacks targeting the field on which the Kurdistan Region relies to generate the majority of its electricity and supply household cooking gas.
A KRG official told Rudaw in late July that the field had been hit 12 times, and three of its personnel had been killed.
The attacks intensified after the US and Israel launched a 42-day-long war against Iran in late February. Iran’s retaliation involved attacks on Gulf and Arab countries as well as the Kurdistan Region.
The UAE-based Dana Gas, in charge of Khor Mor gas production, had announced frequent suspensions of operations since the conflict as a precautionary measure to mitigate anticipated damages. It started to gradually restore gas production after August.
The Region has been hit with more than 1,000 drones and missiles since the outbreak of the war. Iran and its affiliated armed groups in Iraq have been behind the strikes.
Accordingly, Kurdish officials have requested guarantees from Baghdad to prevent the attacks.
Masrour Barzani, the KRG Prime Minister, stated late July that some of the strikes were launched from Mosul.
He also said the Iraqi government “must not allow those who operate outside the law to jeopardize the security and stability of the Kurdistan Region and, consequently, all of Iraq in this manner."
Sunday's strike happened against the backdrop of the US-led Global Coalition against the Islamic State’s departure on September 30.
A spokesperson for the Iraqi government said at the time that they have been “working to bolster the air force and air defense with advanced systems,” he noted, citing contracts with the US, South Korea, and Turkey for the purchase.”
Erbil had expressed concern that it was left to fend for itself with the US withdrawal, particularly as the Region lacks air defenses to defend its critical infrastructure.
[updated at 12:01 am]
