Syria foils Hezbollah-linked plot to attack key oil refinery
Authorities say they arrested two members of Hezbollah cell and seized explosives allegedly intended for use against Homs refinery, the last facility operational after civil war
DAMASCUS, Syria — Syrian authorities said on Tuesday they had prevented a sabotage attempt against an important refinery by figures linked to Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group.
The announcement comes after a series of unclaimed attacks against oil and gas pipelines across several regions in the country.
The Iran-backed terror group has denied similar allegations from Damascus in the past.
Domestic intelligence and security forces “foiled a terrorist plot by a cell affiliated with the Hezbollah militia that was targeting the Homs refinery,” the security forces said in a statement.
They said they had arrested two members of the cell and seized explosives intended for use in the attack.
The Homs refinery, in central Syria, is the only operational one in a country devastated by more than a decade of civil war that ended in late 2024.
Another refinery, on the coast at Banias, is undergoing maintenance.
Damascus has previously announced the dismantling of cells linked to Hezbollah, which has denied the allegations each time.
The Lebanese terror group, a sworn enemy of Israel, took part in Syria’s civil war on the side of the since-overthrown Bashar al-Assad, fighting against those now in power in Damascus and earning their ongoing enmity.
On Sunday, Syrian news agency SANA reported a foiled plot against the refinery, while in early October Damascus reported sabotage attacks first against an oil pipeline and then a gas one.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem have both raised the possibility of meeting each other.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.