A pipeline for gas used to generate 50% of the electricity in Iraq’a Kurdistan region was blown up on Friday, knocking out power and leaving many without electricity.
The explosion hit the pipeline in the Qader Karam district of Kirkuk, as a result of two homemade bombs being detonated, according to local police.
“The gas pipeline that stretches to Erbil was blown up near the sub-district of Shwan last night,” the Kurdish Regional Government’s Interior Ministry said in a statement.
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Alarabiya.net reports:
It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack.
The head of electricity distribution in Kurdistan, Omid Ahmed Mohammed, said the blast had initially reduced the region’s total electricity supply to around 400 megawatts (MW) from 2,850 MW, but authorities later managed to return it to around 2,000 MW by drawing on other sources.
