BAGHDAD, 09 Nov. - (ANA) - A major gasfield in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region was struck in a “terrorist attack” late on Sunday night, authorities said.

 

The assault on Khor Mor in Sulaymaniyah province caused blackouts across the region, the Kurdish Electricity and Natural Resources ministries said. The ministries described the strikes as a “terrorist attack” and said they were working on minimising its impact. There was no claim of responsibility for the attack.

 

Khor Mor has frequently come under attack during the Iran war, with Iraqi Kurdish authorities accusing Tehran-backed militia groups of seeking to destabilise the region's gas sector.

 

Iraq's Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi ordered the formation of a joint investigation committee with Kurdish authorities to investigate the attack.

 

About 2.8 gigawatts of power generation in the Kurdistan region was lost because of the attack, the region's Electricity Ministry said. Khor Mor has frequently come under attack during the Iran war, with Iraqi Kurdish authorities accusing Tehran-backed militia groups of seeking to destabilise the region's gas sector.

 

Omed Ahmed, a spokesman for the Electricity Ministry, said that because of the attack and the suspension of gas exports, electricity generation on the national grid would drop by between 2.5GW and 2.8GW. To prevent a total blackout, the ministry was supplying power to hospitals and water stations from hydropower stations and fuel-powered plants, he added.

 

Joint ⁠field operator Dana Gas confirmed on Monday that production remained suspended after the attack. In a statement to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, the Sharjah-based company said the attack caused a fire, which had since been extinguished, and there were no injuries to personnel. The damage was being assessed.

 

Khor Mor has frequently come under attack during the Iran war, with Iraqi Kurdish authorities accusing Tehran-backed militia groups for seeking to destabilise the region's gas sector. In July, Dana Gas shut its main production sites in the field for a period, citing credible security threats.

 

Khor Mor was hit last November in an attack, halting production and again causing power cuts in the region. That attack was also blamed on Iran-backed factions and drew widespread regional condemnation.

 

In recent weeks, tension has mounted between the Iraqi government and militia groups, as Mr Al Zaidi has sought to assert state authority over armed factions operating outside formal command structures.

 

One of the militias, Kataib Hezbollah, has publicly challenged what it sees as attempts to curb its political and economic influence.

 

The government's initial plan was to begin bringing the groups' weapons under state control by a September 30 deadline, when the US-led anti-ISIS coalition left Iraq.

 

The deadline has been pushed back to June 30 next year at the earliest, as the government tries to tackle the resistance from influential factions.   - (ANA) - 

 

AB/ANA/09 November 2026 - - -