Drone attacks targeting the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq increased in July, leading to condemnations by the US, UK, and various officials. “The United States condemns the recent drone attacks throughout Iraq, including the July 14 and July 15 drone attacks on critical infrastructure at the Khormala and Sarsang oil fields in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region,” the US Embassy in Baghdad said on July 15.
On July 18, the British Embassy in Baghdad followed suit, saying that it “condemns the recent drone attacks across Iraq, including those this week targeting energy infrastructure in the KRI [Kurdistan Region of Iraq].” The recent waves of attacks have increasingly targeted oil fields and energy sites in northern Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish enclave.
In its July 15 statement, the US called on the Iraqi government to prevent “armed actors from launching these attacks against sites within its own territory, including locations where Iraqi and international companies have invested in Iraq’s future.” The UK and the US both called for an investigation and for the perpetrators to be held accountable. A second US statement by the US Department of State on July 16 noted that “these attacks imperil Iraq’s stability and economic future.”
The condemnations follow three weeks of drone attacks that began around the end of the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran. On June 24, drones targeted radar installations at several Iraqi military airfields. In early July, new attacks began, targeting Kirkuk, Sulimaniyeh, and Erbil. It is unclear whether the June 24 attacks were carried out by the same perpetrators as those behind the spate of attacks targeting the Kurdistan Region. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has blamed Iranian-backed militias within the Popular Mobilization Forces for the attacks.
Most recently on July 16, according to the Erbil-based Rudaw Media Network, “An oil field in the Kurdistan Region’s northern Duhok province was targeted in a drone attack early Wednesday morning.” The report noted that the incident was the third consecutive day of attacks targeting “energy infrastructure.” On July 15, the Sarsang oil field in Duhok province, operated by US-based HKN Energy, had been targeted by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). On July 14, the Khurmala oil field, located near Erbil, was also attacked.
In the July 16 attacks, the KRG’s Directorate General of Counter Terrorism (CTD) said that “between 6:00 and 6:15 am, the DNO oil field in Peshkhabur, located within the Zakho Independent Administration, was targeted by two explosive-laden drones.” Another drone then targeted the DNO oil field in Tawke near Zakho, causing “material damage to the oil fields, but no casualties.” One of the attacks near Dohuk was caught on video.
More attacks took place on July 17, when two explosive drones crashed near Erbil, according to local reports.
The attacks have received widespread condemnation among Kurdish officials, including the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR). “We are calling on the government of Iraq and Kurdistan Regional Government to conduct an immediate investigation, and we expect that the government will protect our companies’ investments in the Kurdistan Region,” APIKUR spokesperson Myles Caggins told Rudaw.
“The Kurdistan Region has lost nearly 200,000 barrels of oil production after a spate of drone attacks by criminal militias on the Iraqi government payroll,” noted Aziz Ahmad, deputy chief of staff for KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.
The drone attacks illustrate the challenges Iraq faces in reining in armed groups, including the Iranian-backed militias within the PMF. These groups, such as Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba, and Asaib Ahl al Haq, have been routinely involved in attacks on US forces and the Kurdistan region over the past decade.
“Whatever the dimensions of these attacks may be, they highlight the weakness of the state and the dominance of political forces, as well as both legal and illegal groups in Iraq,” researcher Mahmood Baban wrote at Rudaw. There is speculation that the drone attacks are part of a broader campaign linked to Baghdad’s dispute with Erbil over energy deals and salaries.
“Attacks by Iran-backed Iraqi militias against US forces and American oil companies in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq will not be tolerated,” US Representative Joe Wilson wrote on X. He called on Iraq’s prime minister to take action. Kurdish official Aziz Ahmad stated, “Our American partners have long denied us the tools to defend our energy and civilian infrastructure. We need them now to help us defend ourselves — we know exactly who’s behind these attacks and where they’re coming from.”
