Production suspended at Iraq's Khor Mor gas field after drone attack, sources say

Nov 8 (Reuters) - Production was halted on Sunday at Iraq's Khor Mor gas field, one of the largest in the Kurdistan region, after a drone ​attack hit the field, sources said.

Two sources in the region's electricity ministry said production ‌at the field was suspended after a single drone strike hit the LPG storage tank, causing a fire that was still raging. Two security sources said smoke was ​seen rising from the field.

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Employees at the field were evacuated to ​shelters inside the facility following the attack, the two ministry ⁠sources said.

Iraq's prime minister and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Ali al-Zaidi, ​said the attack did not result in casualties, based on an initial assessment.

A ​joint statement by the region's natural resources and electricity ministries described the attack on the field as a "terrorist attack," saying they are working on minimizing its impact.

There was no ​claim of responsibility for the attack.

The gas field provides supplies for regional ​power generation.

Some 2.8 gigawatts of power generation in the Kurdistan region was lost following the ‌attack, ⁠the region's electricity ministry said in a statement.

Iraq ​has been among ⁠the countries most affected by Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Traffic in the strait remains disrupted ​as ships continue to face attacks in the area.

Baghdad ​has been ⁠striving to balance its ties with neighboring Iran and the US amid the military escalation between the two countries.

However, Tehran has launched attacks against Iranian Kurdish ⁠opposition groups ​in northern Iraq, while Iran-backed militants in ​Iraq launched attacks against Gulf neighbors earlier in the conflict.

Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed and Menna Alaa ​El-Din; Writing by Menna Alaa El-Din; Editing by Nia Williams and Chris Reese