Syria arrests suspects over sabotage attack on oil pipeline

The Syrian Petroleum Company said on Wednesday that an oil pipeline near Tal Hamis in Hasakah province was damaged in a sabotage attack, adding that authorities have arrested those responsible as concerns mount over energy infrastructure security in the war-torn country.

Sabotage and arrests

"The oil pipeline located near the Tal Hamis area was subjected to a sabotage attack that caused damage," the company said in a statement carried by state-run Alikhbariah TV, noting that maintenance teams were dispatched to secure the site and isolate the damaged section. Authorities arrested the perpetrators and handed them over for legal proceedings, though the firm declined to disclose their identities, number, or alleged motives.

History of targeting energy assets

The incident came one month after a similar attack along the Tal Hamis-Abu Ghadir road where saboteurs targeted infrastructure to steal crude oil, local sources said. In August, the company reported that a gas export pipeline from the Jbessa gas plant in rural Hasakah was deliberately sabotaged, temporarily halting supplies before repair teams intervened.

Strategic northeastern fields

Oil infrastructure in Hasakah has gained strategic importance since March, when the company began receiving crude from the Rmelan and Suwaydiyah fields to support domestic refining operations. The firm is currently rehabilitating a 560-kilometer heavy oil pipeline linking Rmelan to the central province of Homs to transport crude to refineries.