Drone Strikes Intensify Tensions in Kurdish-Iraq Oil Sector

Drones targeted oil fields in Iraq's semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region on Wednesday, marking the latest in a string of recent attacks that have shuttered several oil facilities.

While responsibility for the incidents remains unclaimed, tensions between the central government in Baghdad and Kurdish authorities have soared. According to the Kurdish region's anti-terrorism department, two drones attacked an oil field in the Zakho district, inflicting damage but sparing injuries.

DNO ASA, the Norwegian company managing the field, reported that its operations were "temporarily suspended following three explosions early this morning." The attacks included one at a small storage tank in Tawke and another at Peshkabir's surface processing equipment. Assessments of the damage are underway, but no injuries have been reported.

The assault follows a separate incident in Dohuk province where another oil field, operated by a U.S. company, was set ablaze following a drone strike. The Kurdistan Ministry of Natural Resources condemned these acts as an economic attack and urged federal intervention to prevent further incidents.

Earlier this month, Kurdish regional authorities accused the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of Iranian-backed militias under official Iraqi military control, of executing the drone attacks. Meanwhile, the Iraqi army dismissed the accusations as lacking evidence and warned they could justify destabilizing actions by hostile entities. Historically, Iran-backed groups have sporadically targeted U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria, posing threats amid broader geopolitical tensions.

(With inputs from agencies.)