Drone attack shuts Iraq oil field run by US company

A drone strike forced a US company to suspend operations at an oil field in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region yesterday, the latest in a string of attacks targeting the region's energy infrastructure.

The Kurdistan Regional Government said the Sarsang oil field in Duhok province was hit, calling the strike "an act of terrorism against the Kurdistan Region's vital economic infrastructure".

The attack followed a similar drone strike a day earlier on an airport in neighbouring Arbil province, which hosts US troops.

HKN Energy, the US firm operating the site, said the blast occurred at about 7:00 am at one of its production facilities in the Sarsang field.

"Operations at the affected facility have been suspended until the site is secured," it said in a statement.

A fire broke, but no casualties were reported.

Emergency response teams later contained the blaze, HKN Energy said.