A series of drone attacks struck oil fields in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region on Wednesday, forcing the shutdown of key facilities and heightening regional tensions. The latest strikes targeted the Zakho district, where two drones hit fields operated by Norwegian company DNO ASA, damaging a storage tank at the Tawke field and surface processing equipment at the Peshkabir field, according to Kurdistan’s counter-terrorism service. No casualties were reported, but DNO suspended operations for a damage assessment.

The attacks follow a similar strike on Tuesday, when a drone set a U.S.-operated oil field in Dohuk province ablaze, halting production. The Kurdish Ministry of Natural Resources condemned the strikes as deliberate attempts to sabotage the region’s economy and endanger energy sector workers, urging federal intervention. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which mark the fifth oil field hit in Kurdistan within a week.

Tensions between Baghdad and Kurdish authorities have intensified, with the Kurdish regional government recently accusing the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an Iran-aligned militia coalition under Iraqi military control, of orchestrating the attacks. The Iraqi army rejected these claims as baseless, warning they could destabilize the country. The strikes coincide with ongoing disputes over oil exports, with a major pipeline to Turkey closed since 2023 due to legal and technical issues.

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The region has faced a spate of unclaimed drone and rocket attacks in recent weeks, amid broader regional tensions involving Iran-backed groups, which have previously targeted U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria. The repeated assaults on critical infrastructure underscore the fragile security situation in Iraq’s Kurdish region.

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