Iraqi Kurdistan's Khor Mor gasfield targeted in renewed attacks

A major gas field in Iraq's 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.

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 for 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 2.5 gigawatts and 2.8 gigawatts. To prevent a total blackout, the ministry was supplying power to hospitals and water stations using 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 attacked in November last year, in one of the largest attacks, halting production and again causing blackouts in the Kurdistan region. The 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, 2027, at the earliest, as the government tries to tackle the resistance from influential factions.

Mr Al Zaidi has been facing US pressure since taking office in May to rein in Iranian influence in the country, especially through armed groups.

Iraq's Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said the US Treasury had asked Baghdad to close most border crossings with Iran as part of Washington's policy of increasing economic pressure on Tehran.

"There are many official and unofficial border crossings with Iran, and closing all of them would be difficult and would affect our economy. ​The Americans ‌are still ⁠demanding the closure ​of the crossings, ​and ‌we are currently in ⁠discussions with them," he said in an interview with Al Jazeera.

Last month, Iraq closed Al Sheeb border crossing with Iran, drawing protests from Tehran and local officials in Maysan province. Mr Hussein said the US had asked for all crossings to be closed except two, including one in the Kurdistan region.