Drone strikes that have damaged oil fields in the Kurdistan region of Iraq potentially threaten public services that impact human rights including healthcare and education, according to a Tuesday release from Human Rights Watch. They also risk escalating an ongoing dispute between the regional and national government over oil revenues, the organization said.

The attacks on the oil fields came amid a wave of near-daily drone strikes that took place across Kurdistan from July 2-16, which resulted in a sharp reduction in oil output. Given the dependence of the regional government on oil revenue for public services, these attacks could have a significant impact on the availability of essential services, especially since the national government has periodically withheld funding from the regional government amidst disputes over allocations of oil revenue.

Although no group has taken responsibility for the attacks, the Kurdish government has accused a militia group, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), of perpetrating the attacks. The regional government also accused the national government of allowing militia groups to operate in the region, which the national government has categorically denied.

The national government of Iraq and the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan in the north have long disputed who has authority over the export of oil. A 2014 case from the International Court of Arbitration ruled that Kurdistan’s unilateral export of oil outside of the framework Iraq’s national oil company was illegal. Nevertheless, disputes over how revenue should be shared from the export of oil have persisted as the governments have continued to negotiate.

Many of the oil fields that were attacked are American owned, drawing speculation from local media that American strikes against the groups that are responsible for the attacks may be on the horizon, given the PMF’s ties to Iran.