Erbil and most cities across the Kurdistan Region of Iraq were plunged once again into complete darkness on Saturday evening after the Kormor gas field halted the supply of gas to power stations in the region, amid fears it could be targeted as a result of the aerial war between Iran, the United States, and Israel.
Successive volleys of Iranian missiles and the thunderous sound of their explosions in the sky and on the ground were the most striking scenes in Erbil on Saturday.
Only seconds separated the consecutive blasts that violently shook the city and its skies. Although Erbil has for years been accustomed to being targeted by Iranian missiles and those of its allied groups whenever Israel or the United States strikes them, the explosions and missile sounds this time were the most intense in years. Most of the attacks targeted Erbil International Airport, the U.S. base located there, and the U.S. consulate in the city. However, the U.S. missile defense system succeeded in intercepting the majority of the missiles and drones.
Alhurra spoke with six security officers in the Kurdistan Region, including two Peshmerga officers, all of whom confirmed that the U.S. defense system in Erbil intercepted more than seven volleys of Iranian missiles and drones on Saturday morning and afternoon, downing them before they reached their targets. Two missiles, however, struck the city—one fell on the outskirts of Erbil International Airport and the other near the U.S. consulate—without causing any casualties or material damage.
Amid the heavy missile attacks over Erbil, the Kurdistan Regional Government announced on Saturday that it had halted the Kormor gas field, south of Sulaymaniyah province, from supplying gas to electricity generation plants in the region as a precaution against possible targeting.
A joint statement issued Saturday by the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministries of Natural Resources and Electricity said that UAE-based Dana Gas, the company investing in the field, stopped supplying gas to power plants in the Kurdistan Region due to the ongoing war, resulting in a reduction of electricity production capacity in the region by about 3,000 megawatts.
The two ministries noted that the Ministry of Electricity would be forced to rely on alternative sources to mitigate the impact of reduced production on citizens.
According to the statement, the decision to halt operations was taken to protect the lives of workers at the field amid fears it could be targeted during the war.
The regional government also announced the suspension of official working hours in all public and private schools, universities, and institutes across the region from Sunday, March 1, through March 4.
A joint statement by the Ministries of Education and Higher Education said the decision was taken in the public interest and to safeguard the safety of teaching staff and students in light of the aerial war between Iran, the United States, and Israel.
Coinciding with the Iranian missile attacks on Erbil, the Kurdistan Region’s Counter-Terrorism Service urged citizens to remain in safe locations when they hear air-raid sirens.
In a statement, the agency said: “We ask citizens to strictly follow preventive and precautionary measures,” stressing the need to seek shelter in appropriate places when sirens sound and attacks begin.
Meanwhile, Jwanshir Rafati, a leader in the Iranian Kurdish opposition Freedom Party of Kurdistan, told Alhurra in a special statement that “joint Israeli-U.S. missile strikes targeted bases of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in the cities of Kermanshah, Kamyaran, and Khormawa in Iranian Kurdistan, western Iran, resulting—according to preliminary information—in the deaths of dozens of IRGC members and causing significant damage to the targeted bases.”
The article is a translation of the original Arabic.
