ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The British Embassy in Baghdad on Friday condemned the recent wave of aerial strikes targeting oil facilities in the Kurdistan Region, calling on relevant authorities in Baghdad to hold the perpetrators accountable.

A series of drone attacks have targeted critical infrastructure in the Kurdistan Region and Kirkuk since late June, coming days after the ceasefire agreement between Iran and Israel.

“The UK condemns the recent drone attacks across Iraq, including those this week targeting energy infrastructure in the KRI [Kurdistan Region of Iraq],” read the statement from the British diplomatic mission on Friday.

Drone strikes have targeted oil facilities across the Kurdistan Region on an almost-daily basis over the past week, prompting international oil companies operating in the Region to suspend production.

The attacks come amid ongoing negotiations between Erbil and Baghdad to resume Kurdish oil exports, which have been halted since March 2023.

The Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Thursday announced they had reached an agreement aiming to resolve their outstanding financial disputes. The agreement obliges the Kurdistan Region to send over 230,000 barrels of oil per day to be exported through Iraq’s State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO), while allocating 50,000 barrels for the Region’s local consumption.

“These attacks threaten civilians' safety, damage Iraq's economy, and undermine Iraq's stability,” the embassy added in its Friday statement. “We urge the Government of Iraq to prevent further attacks and hold those responsible to account.”

The Iraqi Joint Operations Command on Friday announced that their forces have launched a “wide-scale inspection operation,” covering numerous locations in the Hatra desert within the sectors of western Nineveh and Salahaddin, aimed at tracking down the parties responsible for the recent attacks on oil fields in the Kurdistan Region and thwarting their attempts at targeting “vital assets” in the country.

The US State Department on Wednesday condemned the recent drone attacks, saying that they “imperil Iraq’s stability and economic future,” and noting that Washington holds the Iraqi government responsible for protecting its territory and its citizens.

In a statement on Wednesday, 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.”

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