Yemeni Monitor/Newsroom
The United States strongly condemned the attack on energy infrastructure in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq on Friday.
“Such attacks are an affront to Iraq’s sovereignty,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement. “We encourage authorities to investigate and bring those responsible to justice. The United States will continue to work with the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government in support of Iraqi security, stability, and sovereignty.”
Four Yemeni workers were killed on Friday in a drone strike that targeted the Khor Mor gas field in Iraqi Kurdistan, according to regional authorities.
Ramik Ramadan, the deputy district commissioner of Chamchamal, where the attack took place, said that around 6:45 p.m. on Friday (3:45 p.m. GMT), the Khor Mor gas field was targeted by a drone strike. The field is a large one operated by the UAE-based Dana Gas company.
Ramadan confirmed that the strike targeted a petroleum storage facility that had been “shelled two months ago with Katyusha rockets.” He said that “according to preliminary information, the shelling was by a drone and not Katyusha rockets, unlike previous times.”
The Joint Operations Command, for its part, confirmed that the perpetrators “will face their punishment,” announcing in a statement the formation of a “fact-finding committee” to investigate the circumstances of the “destructive attack.”
The site has been targeted by several attacks in recent years, with no one claiming responsibility, but this is the first time an attack has resulted in fatalities.
“Four Yemeni workers were killed and the field was severely damaged, which will affect electricity,” said Kurdistan Regional Government spokesman Peshwa Hawramani in a statement.
“These repeated attacks must be stopped,” he added, calling on the federal government in Iraq to “find the perpetrators of this terrorist act, bring them to justice, and prevent such acts from happening again,” he said.
Kurdistan Region of Iraq President Nechirvan Barzani also condemned the attack on Khor Mor, stressing that “these attacks endanger the peace and stability of the country.”
“The responsible authorities in the Iraqi federal government must do their duty to prevent these attacks, find the perpetrators from any side, and punish them in accordance with the law,” he added.
Kurdish politicians have previously denounced these sporadic attacks targeting the Khor Mor gas field, blaming Iranian-backed armed factions.
