Latest news with #droneattacks
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Drone strikes shut oilfields in Iraq's Kurdistan due to infrastructure damage
BAGHDAD, July 16 (Reuters) - Several oilfields in Iraq's Kurdistan semi-autonomous region halted production as field infrastructure was significantly damaged, according to the regional government, following a third day of drone attacks on Wednesday. It was not certain who had carried out the attacks and no group has claimed responsibility for them. Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP.L), opens new tab said it had shut production at Shaikan field, one of the largest oil discoveries in the Iraq's Kurdistan region, due to attacks in the field's vicinity. "As a safety precaution, GKP has decided to temporarily shut-in production and has taken measures to protect staff. The company's assets have not been impacted," the company said in a statement. Gulf Keystone has a production sharing contract with Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) with an 80% working interest in the license of Shaikan, located around 60 kilometres (37 miles) to the northwest of capital Erbil. "A number of terrorist attacks were carried out by a bomb-dropping drone on the oil fields of Tawke, Peshkabour, and Ain Sifni in the independent administration of Zakho and the district of Shekhan in Duhok province," KRG's ministry of natural resources said. The attacks aimed to harm the economic infrastructure of the Kurdistan region and threaten the safety of civilian workers in the energy sector, the ministry said. Norwegian oil and gas firm DNO ( opens new tab, which operates the Tawke and Peshkabir oilfields in the Zakho area that borders Turkey, said it temporarily suspended production at the fields following explosions that caused no injuries. "The damage assessment is underway and the company expects to restart production once the assessment is completed," DNO said. DNO's shares fell around 5% after the attack and were poised to see their worst day since June 25. The fields were attacked by three bomb-laden drones, but there were no casualties, only material damage, Kurdistan's counter-terrorism service posted on Facebook. The Ain Sifni oilfield, operated by U.S.-based Hunt Oil, was also attacked later in the Dohuk region of northern Iraq. There were no further details on the attack. On Tuesday, a drone attack halted production at the Sarsang oilfield in Iraq's Kurdistan region hours before its U.S. operator signed a deal with Iraq to develop another field. Iraqi Kurdistan security sources said initial investigations suggested the drone came from areas under the control of Iran-backed militias. On Monday, two drones fell on the Khurmala oilfield near Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, damaging water pipes at the field.
Al Mayadeen
a day ago
- Al Mayadeen
Six killed in Israeli strikes across Lebanon, Health Ministry says
The Lebanese Ministry of Health confirmed Tuesday evening that six people were martyred and over a dozen others wounded in a series of Israeli airstrikes and drone attacks across southern and northern Lebanon. According to the ministry's statement, one person was martyred in an Israeli drone strike on a vehicle in the southern town of Babliyeh, located in the Saida district. Local sources had earlier reported that an Israeli drone had struck a civilian car in the area. Meanwhile, three individuals were martyred and 13 others wounded in a separate Israeli drone attack that targeted a vehicle in the town of al-Ayrouniyeh, near Tripoli in northern Lebanon. The strike marks a significant geographic expansion of Israeli aggression, moving beyond its usual targets in the south. Additionally, two more people were martyred in Israeli air raids on Monday that struck the southern towns of Deir Kifa and Beit Lif. Al Mayadeen's correspondent in southern Lebanon reported that Israeli occupation forces stationed in the occupied village of al-Ghajar opened fire with machine guns toward the outskirts of al-Wazzani, a Lebanese town near the border. No injuries were reported. On Sunday, the Israeli occupation launched multiple strikes on the town of Burj Rahhal in the Tyre district, wounding nine civilians. Additionally, a young girl sustained critical injuries and was transferred to intensive care following an Israeli airstrike on the town of al-Zrariyeh in the Saida district, the Health Ministry reported. Israeli occupation warplanes also launched a raid on the outskirts of Bouslaiya and bombed areas between the towns of Ain Qana, Sarba, and Houmin al-Fawqa. Four consecutive airstrikes also hit the outskirts of Irzay in the Saida district. In a related escalation, Israeli warplanes intensified their aggression with a strike on the outskirts of Bouday, west of the Baalbek district, followed by two additional airstrikes on the outskirts of nearby Flaoui.
Al Bawaba
a day ago
- Politics
- Al Bawaba
Iraqi presidency condemns drone strikes on northern oil fields, demands accountability
ALBAWABA- The Iraqi Presidency has strongly condemned recent drone attacks targeting key oil installations in northern Iraq, including the Khormala and Sarsank oil fields, and called for swift investigations to identify and hold those responsible. Also Read Explosion at Sarsang oil field in Iraqi Kurdistan halts production The condemnation follows two separate drone strikes: one on the Sarsank oil field in the Amadiya district of Dohuk governorate, which led to a suspension of production, and another on the strategic Khormala oil field in the Makhmour district of Erbil governorate. According to Iraqi security sources and the Kurdistan Region's Counter-Terrorism Service, the Khormala site was struck by two unidentified drones. While no casualties have been reported, the attacks have raised serious concerns over the security of Iraq's vital energy infrastructure. The Khormala field, which produces approximately 100,000 barrels of oil per day, is regarded as an extension of the Kirkuk oil field and lies outside the officially recognized boundaries of the Kurdistan Region as of March 19, 2003. The Iraqi Presidency emphasized that the site remains part of the Kirkuk governorate and does not fall within the jurisdiction of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). In its official statement, the Presidency criticized the ongoing control and operation of the Khormala field by the Kar Kar Group, alleging that oil from the site is being exported without Baghdad's consent, labeling such activities as "illegal exploitation." The Presidency urged immediate action to 'expose and prosecute those behind the attacks' and to protect national resources from external threats and internal mismanagement. The drone strikes come amid ongoing tensions between Baghdad and Erbil over the management and distribution of oil revenues, particularly in contested areas outside the Kurdistan Region's formal boundaries.
LBCI
a day ago
- Politics
- LBCI
US says Iraq drone attacks 'unacceptable': Embassy
The United States denounced Tuesday recent drone attacks in Iraq, including ones that hit oil fields in the autonomous Kurdistan region, the U.S. embassy in Baghdad said. "The United States condemns the recent drone attacks throughout Iraq," including attacks against "critical infrastructure" at oil fields in the Kurdistan Region, the embassy said on X. It added that "these attacks are unacceptable," urging Baghdad "to prevent armed actors from launching" such assaults.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
German court to rule on claim against Berlin over US strikes in Yemen
BERLIN: Germany's constitutional court will rule Tuesday in a years-long legal saga over whether Berlin can be held partly responsible for US drone attacks on Yemen due to signals sent through the Ramstein air base. The case is being brought by two Yemeni men, Ahmed and Khalid bin Ali Jaber, who lost members of their family in a US drone strike on the village of Khashamir in 2012. The survivors say they were there for a wedding of a male family member and eating dinner when they heard the buzz of a drone and then the boom of missile attacks that claimed multiple lives. A ruling in favor of the plaintiffs could have groundbreaking implications regarding Germany's responsibility toward third countries in international conflicts. The two men, supported by the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), argue that Germany is partly responsible for the attack because the strike was aided by signals relayed from the Ramstein base in the west of the country. 'Without the data that flows through Ramstein, the US cannot fly its combat drones in Yemen,' according to the ECCHR. 'The German government must put an end to the use of this base — otherwise the government is making itself complicit in the deaths of innocent civilians,' said Andreas Schueller, program director for international crimes at the NGO. The plaintiffs first took their case to court in 2014, arguing that Germany had a responsibility to ensure the US military was respecting international law in using the Ramstein base. The case was initially thrown out, before the higher administrative court in Muenster ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in 2019. However, the government appealed and a higher court overturned the decision in 2020, arguing that German diplomatic efforts were enough to ensure Washington was adhering to international law. In a hearing scheduled for 0800 GMT, the constitutional court must now decide what conditions are necessary for those affected abroad to sue the German state for the protection of their right to life, according to the ECCHR. This includes whether data transmission alone is enough of a connection to German territory for Germany to be held responsible. Ahead of the latest proceedings, which opened in December 2024, the German defense ministry said Berlin was 'in an ongoing and trusting dialogue' with the United States about its activities at Ramstein. The government has repeatedly obtained assurances that drones are not launched, controlled or commanded from Germany and that US forces are acting lawfully, the ministry said.
