Qubad Talabani urges Baghdad to rein in non-state groups after Khor Mor drone strike

ERBIL — Kurdistan Regional Government Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani condemned Wednesday’s drone strike on the Khor Mor gas field as a “serious act of terrorism” and said the federal government must act quickly to identify and punish those responsible.

“The attack on the Khor Mor gas field constitutes a serious act of terrorism, directly targeting the daily lives and economic infrastructure of both Kurdistan and Iraq as a whole,” Talabani said in a statement. “The recurrence of such assaults on Kurdistan’s economic facilities is a troubling development that demands immediate and practical action.”

The Khor Mor gas complex in Sulaymaniyah was struck late Wednesday in a drone attack that triggered widespread blackouts across the Kurdistan Region. Regional electricity authorities said the strike caused an estimated 80 percent collapse in power generation, with approximately 2,600 to 3,000 megawatts lost from the grid. Footage shared online showed thick black smoke rising from the site as neighborhoods across the Kurdistan Region reported outages.

Khor Mor has been repeatedly attacked in recent years by unclaimed drone and rocket fire. In April 2024, a drone strike on the facility killed four Yemeni workers and temporarily halted gas supplies, causing widespread power cuts. The field was hit again in February 2025, and it was among several oil and gas sites targeted during a series of drone attacks on energy infrastructure across the Kurdistan Region in July, which damaged facilities and disrupted production at multiple locations.

Talabani said Baghdad bears responsibility for pursuing those behind the latest attack. “It is the responsibility of the federal government to promptly identify and expose the perpetrators behind this attack and ensure they are held accountable for legal punishment,” he stated.

He also warned of the broader risks posed by armed factions operating outside state control. “We stress that the continued actions of non-state armed groups are unacceptable and risk causing political and security instability,” Talabani said. “Accordingly, a key priority for the next Iraqi government must be to put an end to these attacks and hold such groups accountable.”

Bafel Talabani, president of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, also condemned the Khor Mor strike, calling it “unacceptable” and promising a “decisive” response.