Syrian authorities foil plot to attack Banias oil refinery
Syrian officials say they have thwarted a terrorist plot targeting the Banias oil refinery, but have not disclosed further details or named suspects.
Key Takeaways
AISyrian authorities announced on Sunday that they had foiled a terrorist plot targeting the Banias oil refinery in Tartus province, western Syria, according to the state-run SANA news agency citing a source in the General Intelligence Directorate.
The source did not provide details about the plot or identify those behind it, nor did they clarify how the attempt was thwarted or whether any suspects had been detained.
The Banias refinery is one of Syria’s two main oil refineries, alongside the Homs refinery, and plays a key role in supplying petroleum products, including fuel for power generation plants.
The announcement comes about two weeks after a sabotage incident targeted the oil products pipeline between Banias and Homs near the village of Hadida in western Homs countryside, resulting in a gasoline leak, according to the Syrian Petroleum Company on October 15.
On the same day, Syrian authorities reported that the Jibsa gas export pipeline was bombed in the Arabidi area of southern Hasakah countryside, causing a fire.
Earlier, on September 30, the Syrian Electricity Company announced that the Deir Ali, Nasiriya, and Tishreen power plants went offline after an explosion at the Tishreen gas station in rural Damascus halted gas supplies needed for their operation.
Syrian authorities have not announced any official link between these incidents and the plot foiled on Sunday.