Kurdistan
Flag of the Kurdistan Region (left) alongside the flag of the United Kingdom (right). Graphic: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A senior Kurdistan Region official on Thursday urged the United Kingdom to accept Erbil’s “end-user certificates” to activate an anti-drone defense system that was delivered by a British company, stressing that the technology “could save lives.”
Earlier in the day, the UK, through its ambassador to Iraq, “strongly condemned the attack on the Khor Mor gas field,” warning that “attacks on vital infrastructure threaten Iraq’s stability and the safety of its people.”
In a post on X, British Ambassador Irfan Siddiq said the United Kingdom “stands with its Iraqi partners and supports efforts to protect critical facilities,” calling for those responsible to be held accountable.
Responding to Siddiq’s remarks on X, Aziz Ahmad, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Kurdistan Region’s Prime Minister, thanked the ambassador, saying, “We value the KRG-UK partnership and appreciate your sympathy.”
Ahmad emphasized that “the UK could help” indeed, explaining that a British company has delivered an anti-drone system to the Khor Mor field that “is entirely defensive and jams incoming drones.” However, he noted that the system “isn’t working because the UK government won’t accept KRG-issued end-user certificates, and Baghdad refuses to issue one.”
“This technology could save lives,” he asserted, urging a solution to “break this impasse.”
Thank you, Ambassador Siddiq. We value the KRG-UK partnership and appreciate your sympathy.
— Aziz Ahmad (@azizkahmad) November 27, 2025
The UK could help. A British company has delivered an anti-drone system in Khor Mor — it's entirely defensive and jams incoming drones.
Yet the system isn’t working because the UK… https://t.co/B0hvTX3r0P
The Khor Mor gas field was struck by a drone on Wednesday night, triggering a blaze that had yet to be fully contained by Thursday and causing a partial blackout across the Kurdistan Region.
Earlier on Thursday, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani condemned “the cowardly attack on the Khor Mor gas field in the strongest terms,” urging Baghdad to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice.
In a post on X, the Kurdish Premier further urged “our American and international partners to provide the defensive equipment necessary to protect our civilian infrastructure, and to support us in taking serious action to deter these attacks on our people and our progress.”
Located in the Chamchamal district, the Khor Mor field is operated by Pearl Petroleum - a consortium that includes UAE-based Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum. It has been targeted repeatedly in recent years by rocket and drone attacks.
In April last year, a drone strike killed four Yemeni workers at the site, temporarily halting production and disrupting electricity supplies across the Kurdistan Region.
No group has claimed responsibility for the latest attack, but Kurdish officials have previously blamed Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups.
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