Iraq to probe attack on major gas complex that triggered power cuts
Iraq said on Thursday it would investigate an attack on an Emirati-owned gas complex in the autonomous Kurdistan region, which disrupted gas supplies and caused power cuts.
Sabah al-Numan, the military spokesman for the Iraqi prime minister, said in a statement that the caretaker PM Mohammed Shia al-Sudani had ordered "the formation of a high-level investigative committee" to look into the attack.
Numan said "terrorist groups are attempting to undermine the country's stability".
The Khor Mor complex, which supplies most of Kurdistan's power stations and is owned by the United Arab Emirates firm Dana Gas, has been hit several times in recent years.
Late on Wednesday, regional authorities in northern Kurdistan said that a drone attacked the facility, cutting off all gas supplies to the region's power stations.
Dana Gas said that a rocket attack struck a storage tank at the Khor Mor facility, causing a shutdown in production, but did not cause any casualties.
AFP correspondents in Kurdistan reported power cuts across the region, including in the city of Sulaimaniyah.
Iraq has only recently regained a sense of normality after decades of war and turmoil, though it still frequently suffers such attacks.
Kurdish authorities, who have strong ties to the United States, have previously accused armed groups backed by Iran of conducting drone and rocket strikes within their region.
Regional Prime Minister Masrour Barzani urged the US on Thursday to provide the region with defensive equipment.
The regional electricity authority said the attack had disrupted 80 percent of Kurdistan's power grid.
If the damage is limited to one storage tank, electricity may be restored within 48 hours, the authorities said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Mark Savaya, the US special envoy to Iraq, condemned the attack which he said had been carried out by "armed groups operating illegally and driven by hostile foreign agendas".
"There is no place for such armed groups in a fully sovereign Iraq," he posted on X.
Washington has long pressured Iraq to disarm Iran-backed groups and to free itself from Iranian interference.
Baghdad, which has for years navigated a delicate balancing act between its allies Tehran and Washington, has long been a fertile ground for proxy battles.
Source: Agence France Presse
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