Syria says oil pipeline damaged in ‘sabotage attack,’ perpetrators arrested

An oil pipeline in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province was damaged in a "sabotage attack" as authorities arrested those responsible, the Syrian Petroleum Company said Wednesday.

"The oil pipeline located near the Tal Hamis area was subjected to a sabotage attack that caused damage," the company was quoted by state-run Alikhbariah TV.

Maintenance and emergency teams were dispatched to secure the site, isolate the damaged section and begin repairs to return the pipeline to service as soon as possible, it added.

The company said authorities identified and arrested those responsible and handed them over for legal proceedings.

It did not disclose the identities or number arrested, their alleged motives, the extent of the damage or the amount of oil spilled.

The attack came one month after an oil pipeline along the Tal Hamis-Abu Ghadir road in rural Hasakah was damaged in acts of sabotage aimed at stealing crude oil, according to local sources.

In August, the company said a gas export pipeline from the Jbessa gas plant in rural Hasakah was deliberately sabotaged, temporarily halting supplies before repair teams began work.

Oil infrastructure in Hasakah has gained importance following the resumption of crude supplies from fields in the province.

The company announced in March that it began receiving oil from the Rmelan, Suwaydiyah and other fields to support refining and production and meet domestic market needs.

The company is also rehabilitating a 560-kilometer (348-mile) heavy oil pipeline linking the Rmelan oil fields to the central province of Homs to transport crude to refineries.