Overview
- Syria’s General Intelligence Service and Internal Security Forces said they arrested two suspects identified by initials, M S and B Sh, and seized explosives in an operation linked to a planned attack on the Homs refinery.
- Officials described the action as a preemptive security operation that followed precise surveillance and named the Homs facility as the intended target.
- Hezbollah issued a categorical denial of any involvement and said it has no presence in Syria.
- The announcement came after Syrian and Lebanese officials held talks in Damascus about border security, and authorities separately reported recent arrests of suspected ISIL members in Deir Az Zor.
- The Homs refinery supplies domestic fuel and repeated attacks on energy infrastructure have strained supplies and raised economic and political risks for civilians and for Syria’s ability to deliver petrol and diesel.