Syria says it foiled a Hezbollah plot to attack the Homs refinery; the group denies it

Syrian security services announced on Tuesday, November 3, that they foiled a plan to attack the Homs refinery in central Syria. According to Damascus, the plan was behind a cell linked to Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and the authorities speak of arrests and the seizure of explosive devices. The organisation rejects the accusations.

Syria’s General Intelligence Service said in a post on X that the “preventive security operation” was carried out in cooperation with the Internal Security Forces. The two detainees named carry the initials M.S. and B.Sh., and explosive devices prepared for carrying out the plan were found in their possession. In a statement of their own, the Internal Security Forces speak of the arrest of several members of the cell, published photographs of the weapons and equipment seized and of the two suspects, and noted that the operation is part of the continuing effort to identify terrorist cells, foil their plans and protect the country’s vital facilities and economic resources.

Tuesday’s announcement follows an initial statement by the Syrian intelligence service on Sunday, November 1, which said a plot against the same refinery had been foiled, without naming those responsible.

Hezbollah denies it

In a statement, Hezbollah claimed it has no presence on Syrian territory and is not involved in “any activity that undermines Syria’s security and stability”. Damascus has nevertheless accused the organisation in the past of involvement in a series of alleged plots. In September, security forces announced the arrest of three members of a cell allegedly linked to Hezbollah that was preparing rocket attacks in the southern province of Daraa, while the Syrian authorities have also spoken of assassination plots and arms smuggling.

Hezbollah fought alongside the forces of former president Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war. Since his overthrow in 2024, its relations with Damascus have deteriorated significantly. For the recent contacts of the Syrian leadership with Israel, see our report on the Netanyahu-al-Sharaa phone call, and for the organisation’s situation in Lebanon, an Israeli official’s assessment of its rebuilding.

A refinery central to the domestic market

The Homs refinery is, together with the one at Banias, one of Syria’s two large refineries and plays a decisive role in supplying the domestic market with petroleum products, including diesel, fuel oil and kerosene. The attempt announced is part of a series of attacks and acts of sabotage on the country’s energy infrastructure. On Thursday, October 15, the pipeline carrying petroleum products from Banias to Homs was damaged near the village of Hadida in the western Homs countryside, causing a fuel leak. The Syrian authorities spoke of sabotage. The same day a gas pipeline exploded in the north-eastern province of Hasakah, causing a fire and urgent repairs.

On September 30, an explosion on a gas pipeline at the Tishreen station in the Damascus countryside had knocked three power plants out of operation, as the gas supply feeding them was cut. Syria has been part of the US-led international coalition against the Islamic State since November 2025, and its security services regularly announce arrests of the group’s cells. In a similar operation on Sunday, November 1, they arrested two alleged members of an Islamic State cell in Deir ez-Zor, accused of a series of killings, among them that of a Defence Ministry member in Mayadin.