Drone Strike Halts Gas Production at Iraq's Khor Mor Facility
The attack cut power to 70 percent of the Kurdish region, forcing officials to reroute hydroelectric supplies to hospitals and water plants.
By Nadia Rahman ·
A drone attack on the Khor Mor gasfield in northern Iraq suspended gas production and plunged most of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region into darkness on Sunday night. The strike ignited a fire at the facility and removed a large share of the local power grid's capacity.
Omid Ahmed, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministry of Electricity, confirmed that the attack stopped gas supply to power plants in Erbil, Sulaimaniyah, Bazian, Chamchamal, and Duhok. He stated that the strike knocked between 2,500 and 2,800 megawatts of electricity generation off the grid. Security sources told Al Jazeera’s Peter Smith that an explosive-laden drone hit the gas storage facility, reducing grid capacity by 70 to 80 percent.
In response to the outage, the ministry is operating hydroelectric power stations and plants using alternative fuel to supply critical facilities. Hospitals and water treatment plants are receiving power through these backup systems while the main grid remains disrupted.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi announced that no casualties were reported in the initial assessment of the damage. He directed the formation of a joint investigative committee with Kurdish regional authorities to determine the circumstances of the attack. Officials have not yet identified the group responsible for the strike.
The incident occurs during a period of heightened regional tension. A similar drone attack targeted the same Khor Mor facility last year, and no group claimed responsibility for that incident either.
