ISTANBUL

A drone strike targeted an oil refinery in Erbil in northern Iraq on Saturday, triggering a fire and forcing the facility to suspend operations amid the ongoing military escalation in the region, according to multiple local media reports.

A local source told Shafaq News that an unmanned aerial vehicle struck the Lanaz Oil Refinery.

The source said the attack caused a fire inside the refinery.

Operations at the refinery were later suspended following the incident, the source added.

No immediate information was available about casualties or the origin of the drone.

Regional tensions have flared since Israel and the US launched joint attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, killing more than 1,200 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, along with Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries, which it says are targeting “US military assets.”