ISTANBUL

The US on Wednesday condemned drone attacks on oil fields in the Iraqi Kurdish region.

"The United States strongly condemns the drone attacks that have been targeting oil fields in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region since July 14,” said State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce.

"These attacks imperil Iraq’s stability and economic future. The government of Iraq has a duty to protect its territory and all of its citizens," she said.

"These strikes target international companies that are working with Iraq to invest in Iraq’s future," Bruce added, reaffirming Washington’s support for a "stable, federal and sovereign state.”

In a statement earlier, the US Embassy in Iraq decried the attacks as “unacceptable," saying they "undermine Iraq's sovereignty and hurt Iraq's efforts to attract foreign investment.”

One of the targeted fields, the Sarsang field, is managed by HKN Energy, a privately owned US oil and gas firm operating in Iraq’s Kurdish region.

*Contributions by Rabia Iclal Turan in Washington, DC