“The drone attacks in Kurdish energy sites grew out of a sequence of drone attacks since 19 June on Kurdish security forces, where Iraqi militias were claiming that Kurdistan was supporting Israeli and US strikes on Iran,” Michael Knights, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute, told MEE.

Drones struck oilfields in Iraqi Kurdistan on Thursday, with officials pointing to Iran-backed militias as the likely source of attacks this week that have slashed the region's oil output by more than half.

A drone attack targeted an oilfield in Iraqi Kurdistan this Thursday, in what represents a big hit that lowers oil output between 140,000 and 150,000 barrels per day.