An oil and gas facility in the Iraqi Kurdistan region
The United States has slammed the repeated rocket and mortar attacks directed at the oil and gas infrastructure in the Iraqi Kurdistan region.
In a press statement on Sunday, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said such attacks are designed to undermine economic stability just as they seek to challenge Iraqi sovereignty, sow division, and intimidate, stressing the necessity to investigate the attacks and prosecute those responsible for them.
“The United States stands with our partners in condemnation of the repeated rocket and mortar attacks directed at the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, including three attacks in Sulaymaniyah in the last four days on oil and gas infrastructure,” the statement read.
On Saturday, the Khor Mor gas field, belonging to UAE energy firm Dana Gas in Sulaymaniyah was hit by a Katyusha rocket, the third such incident this week.
No group has claimed responsibility for either attack but armed groups that some Iraqi officials say are backed by the Islamic Republic have claimed similar attacks in the past.
In March, Iran fired missiles at Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. No one was killed but missiles did damage to some residential buildings. Iran claimed it used 12 ballistic missiles in that attack and targeted an Israeli intelligence center.
Last week, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein criticized the Islamic Republic's interference in Iraq's internal affairs. He also said earlier this month that Baghdad had submitted a formal complaint to Iran for its aggressive behaviors toward Iraq and the Kurdistan Autonomous Region, and denied Iran's allegations that the Israeli Mossad is present in Erbil.