Drone strike blacks out Kurdistan grid

A drone strike on the Khor Mor gasfield in Sulaimaniyah governorate left more than 70 percent of the Kurdish region without electricity on Sunday night. The attack ignited a fire at the facility and halted gas supplies to power plants in Erbil, Sulaimaniyah, Bazian, Chamchamal, and Duhok. Officials reported that the disruption removed between 2,500 and 2,800 megawatts of generation capacity from the grid.

Security sources told Al Jazeera correspondent Peter Smith that the drone carried explosives. Verified footage from the scene showed smoke and flames rising from the area. The incident follows a similar drone strike on the same facility last year. At the time, no group claimed responsibility for that earlier attack. Current tensions in the region remain high, though it is not yet clear if this strike links to the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran.

Omid Ahmed, a spokesperson for the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministry of Electricity, confirmed the halt in gas deliveries. The ministry plans to rely on hydroelectric stations and alternative fuel plants to keep essential services running. Hospitals and water treatment plants are the top priority for power during the suspension of gas supplies. This strategy aims to maintain critical infrastructure while crews work to restore the main gas flow.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi stated that an initial assessment found no casualties from the attack. He ordered the creation of a joint investigative committee involving authorities from the Kurdish region. The committee will examine the circumstances of the strike. Responsibility for the incident remains undetermined as the investigation begins.

The outages affect the entire semi-autonomous region. Power plants in five major districts are currently operating without their primary fuel source. The ministry will continue to monitor the fire and the status of the gas storage facility. No further drone activity was reported as of the latest updates from Baghdad.