Zaidi presses for expedited final report on Khor Mor gas field attack

BAGHDAD — Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on Wednesday ordered a faster final report on Sunday’s attack on the Khor Mor gas field, which cut power across the Kurdistan Region, and called for legal action against anyone involved.

Zaidi, acting as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, followed up on the investigation and ordered it completed and its final report issued as quickly as possible, his spokesperson, Sabah al-Numan, said in a statement carried by state media.

Zaidi called for deterrent legal action against anyone proven to have taken part in the attack and for those responsible to be held to account under the law, the statement said. The aim was to prevent further attacks and protect vital facilities and the people who work at them, it said.

The statement did not name any suspects or say when the report would be finished.

The order came a day after Numan said Iraqi authorities had identified where the attack was launched from and who was involved. He gave no details but said a high-level security committee, overseen by the commander-in-chief’s office, was working with Kurdistan Region authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Numan also said the government was working to equip Iraq’s air defense forces with modern systems and radars to protect vital facilities, oil facilities in particular. Security deployments around critical infrastructure were under review and could change, he said.

The suspected drone attack late Sunday set off a fire and halted gas production at the field. The shutdown cut nearly 3,000 megawatts from the Region’s grid and knocked out power in parts of Erbil, Duhok and Zakho. The Kurdistan Regional Government’s ministries of Natural Resources and Electricity called it “a terrorist act.” No group has claimed responsibility.

Dana Gas, the field’s UAE-based operator, said Monday that no staff were hurt and that production would stay suspended while it assessed the damage. The fire was brought fully under control shortly after 2 a.m. Monday, and the power loss had eased to about 1,000 MW, 964media found.

Zaidi ordered a joint investigation with Kurdistan Region authorities hours after the attack. When he met Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in Baghdad on Monday, the two leaders condemned the attack and said oil facilities and infrastructure must be protected and steps taken to stop such attacks, Zaidi’s office said.

At the request of the KRG’s Ministry of Natural Resources, Zaidi also ordered the federal Oil Ministry to supply the Region’s household gas until Khor Mor resumes production. The attack hit the field’s loading depot for liquefied petroleum gas, the household gas used for cooking and heating, which loads 1,500 metric tons a day, field sources told 964media.

Khor Mor, in the Qadir Karam subdistrict of Sulaymaniyah governorate’s Chamchamal district, can process about 750 million cubic feet of natural gas a day. Its operators, Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum, say it fuels more than 80% of the Region’s electricity generation.

The field has been hit by repeated rocket and drone attacks. A drone strike in April 2024 killed four Yemeni workers, and another on Nov. 26, 2025, caused widespread blackouts. A federal investigation traced the 2025 strike to areas east of Tuz Khurmatu, in Salah al-Din governorate. It called it the 11th attack on the field from the same area and said arrest warrants had been issued for several suspects.