ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Hunt oil facility in Shekhan’s Baadre subdistrict came under a drone attack for a second time on Wednesday evening, amid a surge in aerial strikes targeting the Kurdistan Region’s oil infrastructure in recent weeks.

“Once again through a bomb-laden drone, an attack was carried out on the American Hunt Oil field in Baadre in Shekhan district,” The Erbil-based Kurdistan Counterterrorism Directorate (CTD) said in a statement. “Apart from material damage, no casualties were reported.”

The facility, operated by American firm HKN Energy, came under another drone attack at 7:14 am on Wednesday morning according to the CTD. Three other drones targeted two other sites in the Zakho region’s Tawke and Peshkabir oil fields between 6:00 and 7:00 am.

The Kurdistan Region's Ministry of Natural Resources voiced “deep concern” over the continued attacks on the Region's energy infrastructure, condemning the “terrorist” attacks, and renewing the call on the Iraqi federal government and the international community to get involved to “protect civilian lives” and prevent further attacks on the Region's energy sector.

The Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR) “strongly” condemned the attacks on the oil production sites operated by its member companies in the Kurdistan Region, calling on Erbil and Baghdad to “take additional measures to ensure the safety and security of our staff and facilities,” in a statement shortly after the attack on the Baadre facility.

A spate of aerial attacks by unidentified actors have targeted the Kurdistan Region and Kirkuk since late June, coming days after the declaration of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel.

A similar attack targeted the Sarsang oilfield in Duhok on Tuesday, forcing HKN Energy to suspend operations at the field.

On Monday evening, two drones targeted Khurmala field in Erbil, and a suicide drone was shot down over Erbil International Airport in the early hours of the same day.

The attacks have sparked tensions between Erbil and Baghdad, with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) decrying the federal authorities’ initial silence toward strikes.

In a statement last week, the KRG accused groups affiliated with the Iraqi state-linked Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) of being behind the recent aerial attacks. Baghdad swiftly denied the allegations, saying the accusations “against an official Iraqi security institution is impermissible, condemned, and unacceptable under any pretext.”

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Tuesday ordered an “immediate” investigation to identify the parties responsible for the drone attacks that struck oil fields in the Kurdistan Region.