Lanterns return: Al-Sulaymaniyah faces long night after gas field strike
Shafaq News – Al-Sulaymaniyah
Large parts of Kurdistan Region’s Al-Sulaymaniyah province were plunged into darkness late Thursday into Friday after a near-total blackout struck the city, forcing residents to turn to lanterns and traditional lale oil lamps in scenes not witnessed in decades.
The outage followed a sudden drop in gas supplies to Kurdistan Region power stations after the drone strike on the Khor Mor gas field —located in Chamchamal district.
A source in the Al-Sulaymaniyah Electricity Directorate told Shafaq News that the attack triggered an immediate interruption in gas deliveries, cutting hundreds of megawatts from the province’s grid and sharply reducing household electricity hours.
On a nighttime tour of several neighborhoods, residents described a city caught off-guard by cold and darkness. “Whole streets were pitch-black. People had to bring out lanterns again,” said Haval Mohammed. Another resident, Shirin Ali, said the experience was unsettling, not nostalgic: “Children were scared, there was no heating, and homes were freezing. Any strike on energy facilities hits people the same night.”
Kurdistan Region Electricity Minister Kamal Mohammed said technical teams are working to stabilize production and restore output as assessments at Khor Mor continue.
The attack, which ignited a fire but caused no injuries, halted gas flows feeding power plants across the Region. It came days after unidentified drones were spotted near the facility, prompting heightened security alerts.
A high-level security delegation arrived in the Region today to investigate, led by Iraqi Interior Minister Abdul Amir al-Shammari, and accompanied by Intelligence Service Chief Hamid al-Shatri and Kurdistan Region Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed.
