Khor Mor drone strike cuts 2,800 megawatts of power
A late Sunday attack on the northern Iraq gasfield disrupted electricity generation in the Kurdish region and neighboring provinces.
By Kofi Costa ·
A drone strike on the Khor Mor gasfield in Sulaimaniyah governorate cut electricity generation in the Kurdistan Regional Government territory by up to 2,800 megawatts late Sunday. Regional officials reported that the attack caused a fire and interrupted gas deliveries to several power stations. The drop in power output was initially recorded between 2,500 and 2,800 megawatts.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ordered a joint committee of federal and KRG authorities to investigate the incident. No group has claimed responsibility for the strike. Reuters reported that the drone originated in the Tuz Khurmatu area of Salah al-Din governorate, which lies outside the semi-autonomous Kurdish region. Neither the launch location nor the attackers have been officially confirmed.
The attack followed a political shift within the Kurdish leadership. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan announced its withdrawal from the KRG days before the strike, intensifying its confrontation with the Kurdistan Democratic Party. This domestic dispute coincides with pressure on Baghdad to place weapons held by pro-Iranian Shia armed factions under state control.
Mohammed Amer, a political science academic and member of the KDP, stated that the strike tested Iraq’s capacity to assert sovereignty and safeguard essential infrastructure. He argued that federal authorities are responsible for protecting the country’s territory and airspace. Amer called for faster action to bring weapons under government authority, warning that continued strikes could discourage overseas investment in the energy sector.
Kadhim Yawer, a strategic affairs researcher, linked the attack to the confrontation between Iran and the United States. He said the strike sought to inflict economic harm on both the Kurdish region and Iraq. Yawer noted that the departure of US-led coalition forces had increased security challenges. He argued that opposition among some political figures to fully disarming militias gave those groups greater freedom to operate.
Ghanem al-Abed, a political researcher, urged the federal government to identify and punish those responsible. He warned that further attacks could affect areas beyond KRG-administered territory because Khor Mor supports electricity generation in Kirkuk and Nineveh governorates. Al-Abed stated that resistance to disarmament heightened the danger of instability and that armed factions could draw Iraq into a wider confrontation if fighting between Iran and the United States resumed.
The incident occurs amid heightened tensions surrounding the US-Israel war on Iran. Kurdish authorities have attributed earlier attacks on Khor Mor to Iran-backed groups in Iraq, though responsibility for the latest strike remains unconfirmed. The joint committee tasked by the Prime Minister has begun its investigation into who carried out the attack.
